Complex adaptive phenomenology: A conceptual framework for healthcare research

Healthcare research exploring the lived experiences of health care professionals from different disciplines, such as nursing, medicine, and allied health, has repeatedly highlighted many methodological challenges, especially in understanding the individual human experience within complex systems. In response, complexity theory and phenomenological approaches emerged and evolved in ways that potentially offered researchers frameworks to inform an understanding of the individual human experience. However, while these two theoretical approaches inform a method of inquiry, there is a gap in understanding the phenomenon of 'being' and how this is embodied within complex systems such as the healthcare system.

The aim of this paper is to present an integrated theoretical framework, namely complex adaptive phenomenology (CAP). CAP aims to address this inquiry gap by offering a structured conceptual framework wherein complexity theory and phenomenology are complementary but multi-dimensional. The key objective of CAP was to synthesize and integrate two methods of inquiry that examine the relational aspects of 'being', that is the gestalt of perception, action, and context, The authors argue that CAP is well-suited to complex research contexts such as healthcare. The framework focuses on the reciprocal, co-constructive relationships extant between perception, meaning, context, and action that shape experiences of 'being' within complex systems. Complexity theory's connectionist orientation explains the relationships that are formative of the experience of being, while phenomenology explores the manifestations of these formative relationships by attending to the notion of 'being' itself.

The authors propose that an integrated framework, of phenomenology and complexity theory, can provide a platform for deeper understandings of the experiences of health professionals and contribute to healthcare scholarship.