Developing a Concept of Hope from a Human Science Perspective

Abstract

This article explores concept development from a human science perspective and uses concept inventing, a method described by Parse, for developing the concept of hope as inspired by the Taiwanese folk song "Mending a Torn Fish Net." The synthesized definition is hope is resolute picturing of the possibilities amid the restrictions-opportunities of communion-aloneness while creatively metamorphosing. This definition is explicitly connected to the three principles of Parse's theory of human becoming. Reflections on research and practice are provided.

The Role of Hope in Patients With Cancer

“…Future research should explore whether hope and hope levels can be defi ned in some way other than as a correlative of general coping mechanisms. Hope may be redefi ned, for example, as a unity of human experiences lived from different perspectives (Wang, 2000). Hope could be defi ned as a personal meaningful choice that individuals make in signifi cant life situations (Tomey & Alligood, 1998).…”

The meaning of hope in nursing research: a meta‐synthesis

“…Other scholars have developed hope scales to measure nursing strategies (19) and develop intervention programmes (19) but this has been critiqued as being too limited an approach. Professional nurses would benefit from knowing peoples' lived experiences of hope to better understand hope in the middle of illness and other critical life situations (20).…”

The Experience of Older Patients With Cancer in Phase 1 Clinical Trials: A Qualitative Case Series

“…35,38 The notion of hope plays a prominent role in medical and social discourse on death and dying, reflecting a taken-forgranted cultural assumption and a dominant medical belief in the possibility of available treatments and the probability of survival and recovery. 31,39,40 Research suggests that patients with advanced cancer undergo chemotherapy to maintain hope, and that hope appears to be a motivator for staying in treatment. 31,41 Research with 15 terminally ill adult patients with cancer enrolled in a phase 1 clinical trial in the United Kingdom, suggests that trial participation is a means of sustaining hope in the face of a dire prognosis and limited options.…”