Hope: Toward Conceptual Maturity in Nursing

Abstract

Purpose: to explore the contextual usage of the concept of hope within the discipline of nursing across two different contexts: spinal cord injury and cancer from the patient's perspective. Method: the Pragmatic Utility approach was utilized for surplus clarification and advancement of the concept. Findings: there is no consistency in the way the concept of hope is conceptualized across two contexts, a number of overlapping concepts were found, and the concepts' operationalization is limited. Nursing Implications and Conclusion: despite a considerable attention to the concept of hope, there is no consensus on the definition of hope. Refinement and clarification of the concept of hope will improve nursing practice through providing nurses who deal with patients suffering from chronic illnesses and their families with better understanding and helping them to design strategies to inspire hope across life span. Future studies to enhance the measurement of the concept of hope is needed.

Keywords: Cancer, Concept Maturity, Hope, Spinal Cord Injury.