The Current Intervention Studies Based on Watson's Theory of Human Caring: A Systematic Review

This article reviewed 19 intervention studies based on Watson's Human Caring Theory between January 2005 and February 2018. The studies reviewed targeted on promoting patients', nurses', and nursing students' psychological health and patient care experiences. Most (15/19; 78.95%) of the studies in this review indicated that Watson's caring science-based interventions could decrease patients' emotional strains, increase patients' self-management confidence and emotional well-being, increase nurses' job satisfaction and engagement, and improve nursing students' confidence in the clinical performance and the awareness of caring behaviors. Nursing is a discipline that requires both scientific knowledge and the art of human caring.

Gleaning Wisdom in the Research on Caring

Light is the metaphor for wisdom; we seek and turn toward light as we seek and reach for wisdom, personally and professionally. The purpose of human life is, as Jung noted, kindling the light of meaning to illuminate the darkness. Nursing caring, focusing on the wholeness of persons regardless of life experiences, events, or circumstances, is intimately bound with wisdom, acquired both professionally and personally. In order to glean the wisdom reflected in current nursing research on caring, the author reviewed studies conducted from 2003 to 2008. Only a sampling of the 99 studies found are included here. Patients, students, nurse leaders, and administrators were asked what caring means and how it can be improved; ways to measure and evaluate caring were tested. This body of work can be used to enlighten nurses on the process of caring and how we teach our students to care.