Application of the Integrative Harmony paradigm and Model

Medically-fragile children at home with technologic equipment to support their vital organs place extraordinary demands on the parent caregiver. An ethnographic study was conducted following 12 Pacific Island families in their homes who cared for their medically-fragile child from hospital discharge over a period of two and a half years. Results showed the 'strengths' parents needed and the 'stressors' encountered in caring for their child. Based on the 'strengths' and 'stressors,' the Integrative Harmony Model was introduced as a new nursing model to bring a sense of harmony/balance into the lives of these parents challenged by extreme conditions. This article explains the Integrative Harmony Model and demonstrates its application with a Pacific Island mother and her medically-fragile child. This new and unique nursing model views individuals from an inclusive, non-dualistic world view. In this model, strengths and stressors are not opposed but are melded together in such a way that a sense of harmony is approached. This model challenges the nurse and others to leave behind the usual boundaries and adapt an integrative perspective connecting with clients/others at a level where it is not a case and someone else's life-it is all our lives.