Trends in Nursing Research

This book focuses on the latest research in the field of nursing. Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimisation of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. Definitions of nursing have evolved to acknowledge six essential features of professional nursing: Provision of a caring relationship that facilitates health and healing, Attention to the range of human experiences and responses to health and illness within the physical and social environments, Integration of objective data with knowledge gained from an appreciation of the patient or group''s subjective experience, Application of scientific knowledge to the processes of diagnosis and treatment through the use of judgement and critical thinking, Advancement of professional nursing knowledge through scholarly inquiry, and Influence on social and public policy to promote social justice.