Who is recognized as the first nursing theorist focused on manipulating the environment?

Florence Nightingale is recognized as the first nursing theorist focused on manipulating the environment to enhance patient care and promote healing. Her pioneering work laid the foundation for modern nursing by emphasizing the importance of the environment in patient recovery. Nightingale introduced the concept that factors such as light, cleanliness, fresh air, and proper nutrition have a significant impact on a patient’s health and wellbeing. Her seminal work, "Notes on Nursing," outlined how nurses can manipulate environmental conditions to create a therapeutic setting. This approach marked a significant departure from traditional medical practices that prioritized medical interventions over environmental considerations.

In contrast, the other theorists mentioned developed models that focused on personal care and self-management rather than the broader environmental aspects that Nightingale highlighted. Dorothea Orem is best known for her self-care theory, which emphasizes the individual's ability to care for themselves. Lydia Hall focused on the care, core, and cure model involving the interaction between the patient, nurse, and physician. Sister Callista Roy developed the adaptation model, which centers on how individuals adapt to their environment, rather than manipulating it directly. Each of these theorists contributed valuable ideas to nursing theory but did not emphasize environmental manipulation in the way Nightingale did.