Growing the science of Family Systems Nursing: Family health intervention research focused on illness suffering and family healing
Date
2015
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Chenelière Éducation
Abstract
The purpose of this book chapter is to review the current science of Family Systems Nursing (FSN) and describe programs of family health intervention research that have contributed unique knowledge about FSN nursing interventions with families experiencing illness. All of these programs of FSN intervention research have boldly challenged the predominant belief within “good science” that before intervention research can be designed and conducted, there first must be a thorough understanding of the phenomenon, i.e., an in-depth knowledge of the variables that mediate families’ response to health and illness. Since the early 1980’s, FSN researchers have been courageously immersed in actual nursing practice with families experiencing illness while researching, mentoring, supervising, examining, and evaluating advanced nursing practice with families. They felt called to answer two central questions: “What are nurses actually doing and saying that is helpful to families in their experience of illness suffering?” and “How can FSN knowledge be implemented by practicing nurses in health care settings?” In the process, they uncovered a circular interactional relationship between practice and research with each informing and enhancing the other.
This chapter offers exemplars of programs of FSN intervention research from around the world that used “going inside FSN interventions” to describe and evaluate the nursing actions that diminish or soften illness suffering in families. Programs of FSN intervention research have also focused on “translating FSN interventions” in practice settings. Recommendations for future research are offered that include an even greater commitment to research focused on actual nursing practice with families and a broader, larger systems focus that uses knowledge translation methodology to examine multisystemic variables that influence how FSN knowledge can be better translated and sustained in the practice of health care with families.
Description
Keywords
Nursing
Citation
Bell, J. M. (2015). Growing the science of Family Systems Nursing: Family health intervention research focused on illness suffering and family healing [L’avancement de la recherché sur l’intervention infirmiere systémique en santé familiale: bilan]. In F. Duhamel (Ed.), La santé et la famille: Une approche systémique en soins infirmiers [Families and health: A systemic approach in nursing care] (3rd ed., 102-125.) Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Gaëtan Morin editeur, Chenelière Éducation. [In French]