Roy, Sister Callista [b. 1939] , a nursing theorist who introduced the adaptation model of nursing in 1970 as a conceptual framework for nursing curricula, practice, and research. In the Roy model the human is viewed as an adaptive system. Changes occur in the system in response to stimuli. If the change promotes the integrity of the individual, it is an adaptive response. Otherwise it is a maladaptive response. The theory provides two mechanisms for coping or adapting. One, a regulator mechanism, is concerned with neural, endocrine, and perception-psychomotor processes. The other, a cognator mechanism, is concerned with perception, learning, judgment, and emotion. Four modes for effecting adaptation of a system are physiological needs, self-concept, role function, and interdependence. The nurse achieves the goal of promoting the patient’s adaptation in situations of health and sickness by manipulating stimuli. Nursing intervention is required when the coping mechanism of the patient loses effectiveness in illness.
