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The dissection of risk: a conceptual analysis
1University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. pjobyrne@uottawa.ca
Nursing Inquiry
|February 15, 2008
Summary
This study analyzes the concept of risk in nursing, revealing it as a tool that upholds social norms rather than a neutral concept. This redefines nursing
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Patient safety is a prominent topic in nursing literature.
- The concept of 'risk' within patient safety and public health remains undertheorized.
- The neutrality of 'risk' has been largely assumed, overlooking its social implications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To thoroughly analyze the concept of 'risk' in relation to nursing practices.
- To explore how 'risk' functions within bio-political nursing care and patient safety.
- To expose 'risk' as a mechanism for maintaining social practices.
Main Methods:
- Application of the Evolutionary Model of concept analysis.
- Critical examination of the term 'risk' in nursing and public health contexts.
Main Results:
- Risk is not an inherently neutral concept.
- Risk functions as a mechanism for upholding prescribed and proscribed social practices.
- The analysis expands the understanding of nursing's role beyond direct patient care.
Conclusions:
- Nursing's role extends to functioning as a governmental body that maintains hegemonic infrastructures.
- A critical analysis of 'risk' is essential for understanding nursing's broader societal functions.
- This reconceptualization challenges traditional views of nursing's scope and influence.
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