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The essence of life purpose
1The University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Nursing, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Pamela.J.Hodges@uth.tmc.edu
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
|March 21, 2009
Summary
This study defines life purpose for critical care nursing, addressing its ambiguous definition and integration into practice. An operational definition is proposed for future research, particularly for older adults in critical care settings.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Science
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Life purpose is crucial in critical care nursing, yet lacks a clear definition.
- Ambiguity exists regarding its integration into nursing practice and research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clarify the essence of life purpose in health and critical care nursing.
- To develop an operational definition for future nursing research.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual synthesis process.
- Literature search of scholarly articles on life purpose.
- Analysis of philosophical underpinnings, attributes, definitions, and theoretical frameworks.
Main Results:
- Identified key attributes and theoretical frameworks of life purpose.
- Synthesized existing knowledge to address definitional ambiguity.
- Developed a proposed conceptual definition of life purpose.
Conclusions:
- A conceptual definition of life purpose is proposed for critical care nursing.
- This definition can be broadly applied to older adults in critical care settings.
- The proposed definition aims to guide future nursing research and practice.
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