Introduction:

Population aging is a demographic concern worldwide and causes the increase of chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, with complications associated with peripheral nerve damage such as neuropathic ulcer. Because of all this, it is the responsibility of the nursing staff to find a solution to the needs of these patients, by using the theories of Sister Callista Roy and Dorothea E. Orem, in order to improve the state of health and make them adapt to the chronicity of the condition, to continue with their daily live with the highest possible degree of independence and the lowest degree of disability.

Objective:

To analyze the coinciding points between Roy and Orem's theories in the care of the elderly with neuropathic ulcer.

Methods:

Systematic bibliographic review for carrying out a critical reflexive analysis of the content of original and review articles. The search strategy adopted was the use of keywords or descriptors, connected through the Boolean operator AND, in the SciELO, Ebsco, LILACS and MEDLINE/Pubmed databases, during the month of January 2017.

Conclusions:

The purpose of nursing is to promote ways of adaptation that support psychophysical integrity, group identity for self-concept, the function of role and interdependence to achieve the overall health of the elderly with neuropathic ulcer.

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