Is integrative science necessary to improve nursing practice?

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Integrative Science
• Health Care Technology

Background:

• Nurses value holistic patient care, but face intellectual barriers with advancing health science and technology.
• The health science literature presents multiple meanings of integrative science.
• Integrative science can be viewed as unifying theories or models accommodating human study dualities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore integrative science as a perspective for overcoming intellectual barriers in healthcare.
• To examine how integrative science can bridge holistic nursing values with scientific and technological advancements.
• To present failure to thrive as a case study for integrative science in nursing.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of integrative science in health sciences.
• Conceptual analysis of integrative science definitions and applications.
• Case study analysis of 'failure to thrive' within an integrative science framework.

Main Results:

• Integrative science involves unifying theories and models that address dualities in human studies.
• It promotes open sharing of knowledge to overcome intellectual separation in understanding persons or populations.
• Failure to thrive exemplifies a complex phenomenon necessitating an integrative science perspective.

Conclusions:

• Integrative science offers a valuable perspective for reconciling holistic nursing with technological advancements.
• Adopting an integrative science approach may challenge existing nursing knowledge frameworks.
• This perspective is crucial for addressing multifaceted health issues like failure to thrive in nursing practice.