Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic Human Needs

The hierarchy of fundamental human needs was created by Abraham Maslow in 1968, and it may be used to determine which requirements a person has at any given time. Prior to addressing other requirements, certain needs must first be addressed to a minimum because they are more fundamental or necessary than others. Despite the fact that everyone has needs, people typically prioritize meeting certain needs before tending to others. Maslow's hierarchy offers a framework for identifying and prioritizing needs and is helpful for comprehending the connections between fundamental human needs.The most crucial requirements are found at the base of the pyramid, while the most complicated requirements are found at the top. The five levels of importance in this hierarchy of necessities for humans are as follows:

Physiological Needs

The physical requirements for human life are called physiologic needs. The hierarchy of needs places the most importance on these requirements since they are the most fundamental to existence and have the highest priority. The human body will eventually stop working correctly if these conditions are not satisfied. For survival, one needs oxygen, food, water, urination, physical activity, rest, temperature regulation, and sexual activity. The kind and extent of nursing interventions that must be provided to each client based on their assessment of their capacity to meet their physiological demands are determined.However, physiologic demands are frequently an important component of the nursing care plan for young, aged, handicapped, and sick persons who require support in satisfying them. Most healthy children and adults meet their physiologic needs by self-care.

1. Oxygen
   All bodily cells need oxygen to survive, making it the most fundamental of all requirements. By evaluating a client's skin tone, vital signs, degree of anxiety, reactions to exercise, and mental responsiveness, nurses can determine whether they require oxygen. She/he thus intends to fulfill that demand.

2. Food (nutrition)
   The body's metabolic activities and the creation of energy both depend on proper diet. This demand must be met with sufficient food and a healthy gastrointestinal system. Hunger is the physical manifestation of a demand for nourishment. Before attempting to feed the patient, the nurse must evaluate the patient's illness state and nutritional needs. Pay attention to the patient's condition, eating preferences, and symptoms of hunger or lack thereof. For instance, a patient often needs a high-protein diet to help with tissue development after surgery. Patients' nutritional needs can be met by intravenous infusion or tube feeding when they are hungry but are unable to eat due to a variety of factors.If the patient has a normal appetite but does not feel like eating, serve the food frequently, attractively, in manageable portions, and in a welcoming setting.

3. Water
   Life requires a healthy balance of fluid intake and excretion. For metabolic activities, fluids are essential. Drinking fluids helps healthy people quench their thirst and maintain fluid balance through a variety of physiological processes. Assessing water balance involves taking measurements of intake and output, evaluating the skin's resilience, examining the state of the skin and mucous membranes, and weighing the patient.

4. Elimination
   Elimination is a physiological procedure that is also a part of the digestive processes. A critical step in the metabolic process is elimination. It allows the body to eliminate wastes and keep fluid and electrolyte balances. The skin, lungs, kidneys, and intestines all help the body get rid of waste materials. For patients who require additional care with regards to eviction, the nurse should keep records of the quantity, frequency, and nature of eviction. Consider keeping a fluid balance chart for accurate estimation. Give the patient plenty of fluids if they complain that their urine is dark and sparse. Encourage the patient to drink plenty of fluids, eat plenty of green leafy vegetables, exercise, etc. if they are complaining of constipation. Any abnormality in urination, sweating, vomiting, or defecation should be reported.

5. Sleep and Rest
   Physiological demands also include the need for exercise and sleep. These actions are made possible by the neuro-muscular and skeletal body systems operating normally. Sleep and rest provide the body the chance to regenerate and decompress. The overall amount, frequency, and length of sleep and rest that each individual needs varies greatly. Fatigue, irritability, behavioral changes, difficulty concentrating, and eventually exhaustion result from not getting enough sleep and rest. Age, environment, exercise, stress, and drugs are all factors that can affect sleep. The patient's sleep schedule should be noted by the nurses. If the patient is fidgety, try to figure out why, then talk to the patient about it or just listen to what they have to say. Inform the doctor if the patient is still having trouble falling asleep.

6. Thermoregulation
   Life requires the preservation of temperature. Extremes can be in either direction and be fatal. Through sensors in the skin, the hypothalamus, and the effector system, the body regulates and maintains its internal temperature. Although any modification to these structures has a limited ability to modify temperatures, age and health state have a significant impact on this ability.

7. Sex
   Each person's sexuality is a unique aspect of themselves, and it can be impacted by mental and emotional health issues. Although they are vital for the survival of the species, sexual connections are not crucial for an individual's existence. The significance of this requirement varies greatly from person to person. By satisfying this need, a person may be better able to meet higher order wants like love, belonging, and self-esteem.

8. Safety and Security
   After attending to fundamental physiological demands, the individual must attend to needs related to safety and security. Safety is frequently the primary motive. Self-preservation, physical safety, and psychological safety are all related to needs for safety and security.

   1. Physical Safety: It refers to defending someone against prospective or actual danger. Offering comfort, insisting on physical activity while taking safety precautions, maintaining personal hygiene, providing or creating a safe environment are all nursing responsibilities that fall under the category of physical safety. To ensure the physical safety of their patients, nurses perform a variety of tasks. The following are these pursuits:

      • To avoid infection, wash your hands frequently and use sterile procedures.

      • Utilizing electrical equipment safely and sensibly.

      • Judicious medicine administration.

      • Moving and ambulating patients with competence.

      • Educating parents about the dangers of household chemicals for kids and other people.

      • Use side rails if the patient is unconscious to stop him from falling out of the bed, etc.

   2. Emotional Safety: It entails having faith in other people and being free from anxiety, dread, and trepidation. A patient may experience anxiety upon admission due to the unfamiliar surroundings. Providing him with a sense of security is one of the nurse's duties. Describe the ward to the patient, let him know when he may visit, when meals are served, and who the other patients are. Allow one guest to accompany him, if you can. Before beginning any procedure, be sure to explain it to the patient in terms that they can comprehend. Encouragement of religious practices that are sources of strength and support will be one area of nursing duties to meet these needs. This will be done by offering spiritual comfort, assistance with emotional support, counseling, and teaching.

9. Love and Belonging Needs
   The next level in Maslow's hierarchy is the desire for love and belonging. People need to have a sense of belonging and affection once they feel safe in order to prevent loneliness and isolation. In order to give and receive love, one must understand and accept others. They also need to feel a sense of belonging to their families, friends, peers, and communities. People who feel as though their needs for love and belonging are not being met frequently experience loneliness and isolation, which can result in withdrawal and other unexpected client experiences. The nurse may notice signs such as client boredom, apathy, and a desire for friends and family to visit when these social affiliation needs are not met. When creating a plan of care, nurses should always take the need for love and belonging into account. The following are a few nursing interventions to help with this need:

   • Including friends and relatives in the treatment of customers.

   • By exhibiting compassion, fostering communication, upholding privacy, insisting on or promoting divisional activities, and socializing privately, it is possible to build strong rapport based on understanding and trust.

   • Directing patients to a certain type of support group, such a cancer support group.

10. Self Esteem Needs
    All people have a desire to feel respected, along with a need for self-respect and self-esteem. The basic human need to be liked and respected by others is represented by esteem. People frequently choose a job or interest to obtain notoriety. These pursuits provide the individual a sense of value or contribution. Unbalances at this level of the hierarchy might lead to low self-esteem or an inferiority complex. People with poor self-esteem frequently feel the need to be respected by others and may feel compelled to want fame or glory. However, until the person accepts who they are internally, fame or glory will not aid in the development of their self-esteem. Self-confidence, self-respect, competence, success, independence, and freedom are all components of self-esteem.
    Self-esteem demands that are met result in feelings of value, strength, and capacity. They experience inferiority, weakness, helplessness, and a sense of not being helpful when you frustrate them. A lower degree of self-esteem or self-respect may result from psychological imbalances like depression. The majority of people require consistent self-respect and self-esteem. Maslow identified two categories of esteem needs: a "lower" and a "higher" category. The requirement for respect from others is the "lower" kind of esteem. This could involve a desire for attention, fame, status, or status alone. The demand for self-respect represents the "higher" form. For instance, the individual could need power, skill, mastery, self-assurance, independence, and freedom. Because it is based on an inner competency developed through experience, this "higher" version claims superiority over the "lower" version. Lack of these necessities might result in a sense of weakness, helplessness, and inferiority. A patient's sense of self-worth may be affected by their illness. The sick individual frequently doesn't believe that they are valuable to others or to themselves. nonetheless, seems like a "drag on life" or a weight. All of these emotions cause grave concerns. In times of illness, strangers may view and touch the patient's body, endangering their sense of self-worth. TTo maintain the patient's self-esteem, drape the patient appropriately, touch him or her gently, and conduct yourself professionally. When you first meet a patient, always introduce yourself by name.

11. Self-Actualization
    Self-actualization is the necessity for a person to fully utilize their special talents in order to realize their full potential. In order to be self-actualized, a person must have realized their full potential and be capable of handling challenges. In other words, it is the condition of realizing one's full potential and possessing the skills necessary to deal effectively with challenges in life. The self-actualization requirements of a patient are the ones that are hardest to meet when they are unwell. Only when other fundamental requirements are met can these needs be met. Self-actualization is a process that lasts the entirety of one's life. A patient frequently feels compelled to follow orders and behave in accordance with what other people want.
    Giving the patient the opportunity to engage in daily routine activities, if they are able to do so, can help meet their needs for self-actualization. In long-term cases, the nurse must recognize the patient's assets and give them the tools to develop them.

    • Characteristics of Self-Actualizers

      • They can endure ambiguity and have good reality perception.

      • They accept one another as they are and themselves as they are.

      • Unplanned in both thinking and behavior.

      • Problem-centered (not self-centered) (not self-centered).

      • A peculiar sense of humor.

      • Being able to view life objectively.

      • Really inventive.

      • Enculturation-resistant yet not deliberately out of the ordinary.

      • Concerned for humanity's well-being.

      • Ability to deeply appreciate even the most fundamental aspects of existence.

      • Create long-lasting, fulfilling connections with a select few people.

      • Peak encounters.

      • Require for privacy.

      • Democratic viewpoints.

      • Strong moral and ethical principles.

Expanded Hierarchy of Needs

It's crucial to keep in mind that Maslow's (1943, 1954) five-stage model has been enlarged to include cognitive and aesthetic requirements as well as later transcendence needs (Maslow, 1970a) (Maslow, 1970b). A seven-stage model and an eight-stage model, both created in the 1960s and 1970s, are two modifications to the original five-stage model that are emphasized.

• Biological and Physiological Needs:air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
• Safety Needs: Protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, etc.
• Love and Bbelongingness Needs: friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).
• Esteem Needs: self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
• Cognitive Needs: knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability.
• Aesthetic Needs: appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.
• Self-Actualization Needs: realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
• A Transcendence Needs: helping others to achieve self-actualization.

Maslow's Needs Applied to Patient Data

Source: Yoost and Crawford-Maslow hierarchy of need applied to patient data.