A commentary on Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness

Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness: an evolutionary concept analysis

BACKGROUND

The health as expanding consciousness (HEC) theory posits that health and disease are interconnected components of a comprehensive process aimed at expanding consciousness.

AIM

The objective of this study is to introduce the concept, research status and applications of HEC and offer a comprehensive understanding of its various key components.

DATA SOURCES

Databases including EMBASE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, Wiley, Web of Science, Sinomed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and CQVIP, covering the period from 1986 to 2023.

METHOD

Employing Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis approach, this study included and analysed 70 studies.

RESULTS

The characteristics of HEC comprise aspects such as movement, time, space, energy, rhythm, and paradigm of health. The antecedents of HEC encompass disease, chaos, binding, centring, and choice point. Consequences associated with HEC include self-transcendence, unbinding, decentring, expanded consciousness, real freedom, pattern recognition, absolute consciousness, and death.

CONCLUSION

This study has identified substitute terms, related concepts, attributes, antecedents, consequences, and empirical references associated with HEC. The findings provide valuable information applicable across various domains of nursing, encompassing practice, education, research, and management.

Persons' experience of HIV/AIDS in Japan: application of Margaret Newman's theory

PURPOSE

To describe human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) persons' experience in Japan applying Margaret Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness.

METHOD

Five men who had sex with other men and who were afflicted with HIV/AIDS were interviewed to describe their experience.

FINDINGS

Their narratives revealed an evolving pattern of the whole of five stages; self-conscious of own sexual orientation, chaos, stagnation, turning point and regaining a new identity. After viewing their pattern, their expanding consciousness was evident from their becoming compassionate for those who were underserved and underprivileged, and having deeper levels of connectedness with their family and friends. The a priori nature of theory in this praxis research was evident when the researcher embodied the theory of expanding consciousness.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings of the study demonstrated the relevance and importance of understanding how the condition intersects with race, gender and ethnicity in constructing the unique experience of living with HIV/AIDS. Community health workers, community mental health nurses in particular, should be cognizant of the illness trajectory of those who are afflicted with the condition. Programmes such as outreach should be carried out on an ongoing basis in order to identify and render support to those who might need help from various stages of illness. Community health workers should identify clients' specific needs to refer to appropriate services because there are physical, mental and socio-economic implications throughout illness trajectory in HIV/AIDS.

The nature of advanced practice nursing

In attempting to define "advanced practice," we argue that nursing as such is teleological or goal-directed with those goals being defined by the patient or client in interaction with the nurse. In helping the patient meet identified goals, the nurse requires 2 kinds of knowledge-general and particular. General includes theory (know what/why), pattern recognition (know what), and practical knowledge (know how). Particular (know who) is personal knowledge about the patient. The advanced practice nurse, by virtue of graduate education, is able to move beyond the familiar and experientially learned. He or she makes a deliberate attempt to situate self in a dialectic between general and particular knowledge in such a way that the interplay opens possibilities. Knowing when a particular action would be most helpful is defined as practical wisdom. We argue that a highly developed sense of practical wisdom is the hallmark of advanced practice.

Family coping with mental illness: a comparative study

Two studies were conducted by the same researcher, one in Canada, the other in Japan, looking at families' reactions to their relatives' mental illness. The focus was placed on family caregivers' transformation processes, which are a unitary process of pattern appraisal and deliberate mutual patterning based on a unitary transformative paradigm within Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness.