Nursing theories
open access articles on nursing theories and models
Swanson's (1991) middle
range theory of caring
Kristen M Swanson
INTRODUCTION
· Caring is an important aspect of nursing.
· Swanson's (1991) middle range theory of caring describes the care of patients and family members.1
Key Concepts
· Swanson's (1991) theory of caring was inductively derived and validated through phenomenological investigations in three separate perinatal contexts. Caring was described in Study I by 20 women who had recently miscarried, in Study II by 19 care providers in the newborn intensive care unit, and in Study III by 8 young mothers who had been the recipients of a long-term public health nursing intervention.1
· Healthcare professionals must act with compassion and caring in order to uphold patients' dignity, promote their wellbeing, and lessen their suffering.2
· Five care processes are described in Swanson's caring theory: knowing, being with, acting for, enabling, and keeping belief. But these domains are intertwined and therefore not mutually exclusive. 2
· Knowing is the “striving to understand an event as it has meaning in the life of the other”
· ‘Being With’ in this theory refers to “being emotionally present to the other, striving to understand an event as it has meaning in the life of the other”. 1-3
· ‘Doing For’ in this theory refers to “comforting, anticipating, protective of the other's needs and performed competently and skillfully”. 1-3
· ‘Enabling’ in this theory refers to “facilitating the other's passage through life transitions and unfamiliar events” . 1-3
· ‘Maintaining Belief’ refers to “sustaining faith in the other's capacity to get through an event or transition”. 1-3
CONCLUSION· Swanson's (1991) middle range theory of caring was developed to explain caring behaviors for patients and families.
· The theory has implication in nursing research, education and practice.
REFERENCES
1. Swanson KM. Empirical development of a middle range theory of caring. Nurs Res. 1991 May-Jun;40(3):161-6. PMID: 2030995.
2. Mårtensson S, Hodges EA, Knutsson S, Hjelm C, Broström A, Swanson KM, Björk M. Caring Behavior Coding Scheme based on Swanson's Theory of Caring - development and testing among undergraduate nursing students. Scand J Caring Sci. 2021 Dec;35(4):1123-1133. doi: 10.1111/scs.12927. Epub 2020 Oct 30. PMID: 33124708; PMCID: PMC9291006.
3. McKelvey MM. Finding Meaning through Kristen Swanson’s Caring Behaviors: A Cornerstone of Healing for Nursing Education. Creative Nursing. 2018;24(1):6-11. doi:10.1891/1078-4535.24.1.6