Health as the goal for nursing

Health is a basic concept in the discipline and profession of nursing. A review of literature from several disciplines revealed that health is viewed as a multidimensional concept. Several approaches to categorize health were presented by various authors. An overview of King's conceptual framework and theory of goal attainment related to her concept of health was discussed. The need to develop reliable and valid instruments to measure the dimensions of health was identified. Several instruments developed by nurses were reviewed. The importance of deriving a conceptual and operational definition of health was related to advancing nursing science. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the meaning of health and its relevance for nursing science. A synthesis of the literature will be discussed first, then King's concept of health will be presented along with the relevance of this knowledge for nursing science and the nursing profession.