This article uses current nursing literature to examine the congruence of the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with the Roy adaptation model. In relating concepts of the Roy model to the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease, it was found that ineffective coping responses can be used to describe disease-related disruptive behaviors. The degenerative disease process would result in the impairment of focal stimuli, such as memory and personality. Because focal stimuli are progressively impaired, the goal of nursing using the Roy model would be to promote adaptive responses through manipulation of the contextual stimuli, the patient's environment. Nursing literature describing positive patient outcomes following environmental interventions suggests that the Roy adaptation model could be very valuable in directing nursing research and devising nursing care strategies for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
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