A quick rundown and history of nursing research/theory with important milestones:
Stages of Research
- Progressed as more nurses got doctorates –
- Nursing faculties were held to the same standards of other faculty -publish or perish influenced our direction
- Since they were PhD in other disciplines the focus of research was on nursing education and evaluation processes
- Stage of research made major contributions -also affected curricula as research classes and statistics courses were added.
Research Journal Boom…
- 1952: Nursing Research
- 1957: Journal of Nursing Scholarship (called IMAGE until 2000)
- 1963: Nursing Science
- 1978: Research in Nursing & Health
- 1979: Western Journal of Nursing
- 1988: Nursing Science Quarterly
National Center for Nursing Research
- 1986: Established at NIH, Upgrade to Institute in 1993
- Signal of “acceptance” or respect
- Fund / stimulate nursing research and knowledge development
- Support & Direct specific areas of nursing science
Stage of Theory The 1960’s –Pioneering Work
- Rozella Schlotfeldt
- Health seeking behavior model
- Relationships between practice, research, and education
- Need to verify knowledge via systematic inquiry
- Use of theory to guide practice
The 1960’s –Another Pioneer
- Rosemary Ellis
- Definition & significance of theory
- Importance of “testability”
- Supported movement of nursing from ideas and principles to guide action to the use of knowledge verified via clinical research
The 1960’s / Groundwork
- 1960: Faye Abdella-pt. centered approach 1960
- 1961: Ida Jean Orlando -nursing process model 1961
- 1964: Joyce Travelbee-interpersonal aspect of nursing & Ernestine Wiedenbach-the helping art
- 1966: Myra Levine-adaptation and assessment 1966
1970’s / Rapid Expansion & Gurus
- 1970: Martha Rogers-science of unitary man & Sr Callista Roy-adaptation model
- 1971: Dorothea Orem-self-care deficit theory & Imogene King-general systems theory & theory of goal attainment
- 1974: Betty Neuman-systems model
- 1976: Paterson & Zderad-humanistic nursing
- 1979: Margaret Newman -the model of health
1980’s / The new wave…
- 1981: Rosemarie Parse-theory of human becoming
- 1985: Madeleine Leininger-culture care
- 1988: Jean Watson -theory of human caring
- 1989: Patricia Benner & Judith Wrubel-primacy of caring
The Late/ Great 1990’s
- A shift from theory development to theory testing/ refinement
- Ongoing development/evolution of extant theories
- A shift from “grand” to “mid-range” work
- More specific focus on specialty areas –narrower concerns/domains
Additional Information and References
- A Timeline of Nursing Theory Development
- Timeline of Theories and Models
- The History of Nursing Research (pdf)
