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'Difference' and nursing research

J Horsfall

    Contemporary Nurse
    |March 1, 1997
    PubMed
    Summary

    Focusing on "difference" in nursing research can obscure power inequalities. Researchers must address social structures like class, ethnicity, and gender for equitable health outcomes.

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    Area of Science:

    • Nursing Research
    • Sociology of Health
    • Health Equity Studies

    Background:

    • Groups increasingly emphasize individual and group "differences" to assert strengths.
    • This focus on difference risks radical individualism and group essentialism.
    • These approaches present challenges within the context of nursing research.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To critically examine the concept of "difference" in nursing research.
    • To highlight the potential pitfalls of focusing on difference, such as individualism and essentialism.
    • To advocate for a research approach that acknowledges and addresses societal power structures.

    Main Methods:

    • Conceptual analysis of "difference" in social and nursing contexts.
    • Examination of how social categories like class, ethnicity, and gender influence research.
    • Critique of how unexamined notions of difference can perpetuate inequality.

    Main Results:

    • The concept of "difference," while intended to empower, can inadvertently mask power imbalances.
    • Societal structures of class, ethnicity, and gender significantly shape the research landscape.
    • Common understandings of difference may obscure rather than reveal underlying power inequalities.

    Conclusions:

    • Nursing research must be critically aware of societal power structures.
    • Researchers should avoid essentializing groups or promoting radical individualism.
    • Research should actively aim for constructive change to benefit health service consumers and promote health equity.

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