King (1990, 1997)developed her Conceptual System to identify concepts that are important to the nursing profession, to help in developing the scientific base for nursing knowledge, and to provide a potent tool to systematize nursing curricula as well as guides to nursing practice that support quality care in all nursing settings. King’s nursing paradigm—which seeks to integrate the personal, interpersonal and social systems that influence a patient’s health—is an important model for health care in the present and beyond (Whelton, 1999).
Her interacting conceptual system for nursing and her theory of goal attainment have been included in every major nursing theory text, are taught to millions of nursing students throughout the world, outline the basis of nursing education programs, and are implemented in various nursing service settings (Frey et al. , 2002). 2. A grand theory & its mid-range theories Grand theory: General Systems Framework. King’s theory underscores the significance of the nurse-patient interaction which considers this interface as an open system which is in continuing contact with various environmental factors (King, 1989; George, 2002).
King’s model is composed of three interacting systems: personal (corresponding to individuals), interpersonal (corresponding to health care settings interactions), and social (corresponding to larger institutions, like communities and hospitals), and is composed of four key concepts, namely: health, interpersonal relations, perceptions and social systems. King argues, in her Theory of Goal Attainment, that patients’ objectives are addressed primarily through the nurse-patient interaction (Williams, 2001).
Mid-range theories: Nursing Theory of Intrapersonal Empathy. The Theory of Empathy suggests that a person’s empathy classifies his/her worldviews, helps in one’s consciousness of self and others, enhances sensitivity, encourages mutual respect, objectives and awareness of society, nurtures one’s understanding of people within a social and historical perspective, and influences learning (Alligood & May, 2000). The study of Alligood and Walker (2001) allowed the discovery of a nursing theory of empathy as a result of a textual analysis of King’s theory.
Conceptualizing from a nursing standpoint, empathy was seen as a developmental experience that influences the personal, interpersonal and social aspects of an individual (Alligood & May, 2000). Theory of Decision-Making. In a study on the explanatory theory of decision-making among women suitable for a cancer clinical experiment, the model taken from the framework of King suggested that the concepts of social support, role functioning and uncertainty can relate with emotional health (i. e. , mood status and hope) which can then relate with the treatment decision (Ehrenberger, et al. , 2002).
A study (Ehrenberger, et al. , 2002) offered practical evidence that King’s systems framework is adequate and can provide partial support to theorized relationships among the important factors in the nursing setting investigated. Family Health Theory.
Doornbos (2002) suggests that the concept of the family was made as an interacting and dynamic and interpersonal system that offered the direct setting for the individual system of the principal family caregiver (as originally proposed by King, 1981). King (1981, 1983) supported this concept by recommending that the communication between the nurse and the family was crucial in helping them attain the health-related objectives which they had set for themselves (Doornbos, 2002).