Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring

Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring
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Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring
Description of the Theory
Development
The Theory of Caring was developed by Kristen M. Swanson in 1991 as a middle-range theory majorly derived from Jean Watson’s grand theory on human caring in the nursing discipline. Swanson was pushed toward this study area after participating in a cesarean birth support group, where women shared experiences of their miscarriages (Limbo & Hutti, 2019). Their personal experiences intrigued her and motivated her to learn more about human experiences and their responses toward them, especially in cases of bereavement.
Swanson developed the theory while pursuing her doctoral studies at the University of Colorado in 1991, focusing on perinatal loss and its effects on patients and health providers. She further advanced the theory during her post-doctoral period at the University of Washington in 1999, where she enhanced the applicability of her theory in aspects of research, education, and nursing practice (Alligood, 2018). This enabled the generalizability of the theory beyond perinatal loss, thus advancing the process of caring in other healthcare aspects.
Purpose of the Theory
The purpose of the theory was to provide meaningful insights on how to deal with miscarriages for both mothers and healthcare practitioners, to enable them to heal and come to terms with such losses. This is important because gaining closure enables these parties to overcome their grief and continue toward a path of acceptance (Alligood, 2018). Consequently, through its ability to prepare and adapt individuals physically and emotionally, the theory offers an effective way of transitioning in the perinatal period.
Assumptions
Major assumptions of the theory of caring were made regarding the four major nursing areas. Firstly, with regard to nursing as a discipline, Swanson asserted that empirical knowledge was crucial due to its ability to inform it while further integrating contributions from other related aspects, including clinical experiences, ethical practices, societal values, and human expectations. Secondly, the person was perceived as a dynamic and spiritual being with free will shaped by their environment. However, she notes that social factors such as race and gender limit the ability to utilize their free will fully. Apart from that, Swanson establishes that health and well-being involve a process of healing through the continuous release of pain and suffering by restoring the boy and developing new meanings that add value to an individual’s wholeness. Lastly, Swanson asserts that the environment is influenced by several factors in the intraindividual landscape, with cells and body organs displaying a relationship that constantly interacts (Alligood, 2018).
Key Concepts and Propositions
The major concepts in this theory include being with, doing for, knowing, enabling, and maintaining belief. Being with entails the emotional presence during interactions with an individual to develop a relationship based on trust. Apart from that, doing for is described as treating others as one would like to be treated while knowing involves putting effort into comprehending another person’s situation and context (McKelvey, 2018). Lastly, enabling requires facilitating individuals through unfamiliar events while maintaining belief is the spiritual support provided to an individual during a transition phase in their lives (Smith, 2020). The propositions developed by Swanson indicate the purpose and intent of caring based on the belief in human beings by understanding their personal situations and using them to develop appropriate care plans. Furthermore, it is notable that different techniques and skills employed by nursing professionals in the caring process may be subtle but effective in their own ways and hence can be overlooked by other observers.
Critique of the Theory
The intent of the Theory
The theory of caring, espoused by Swanson, was initially intended to offer guidance during the perinatal phase for both families and the nursing practitioner but has grown to be used in various nursing scenarios. It is evident that there are adequate links between the processes used in caring and the eventual outcome of healing that ultimately support the application of this theory (Wei et al., 2018). This is because there are distinguishable behaviors that are essential in nursing practice portrayed in the theory that can easily be observe...