Diverse beliefs about the nature and essence of scientific truth are pervasive in the nursing literature. Most recently, rejection of a more traditional and objective truth has resulted in a shift toward an emphasis on the acceptance of multiple and subjective truths. Some nursing scholars have discarded the idea that objective truth exists at all, but instead have argued that subjective truth is the only knowable truth and therefore the one that ought to govern nursing's disciplinary inquiry. Yet, there has (...) been relatively little critical debate or dialogue about the implications of adopting subjective and multiple truths as a maxim to govern the discipline. In this paper we examine what it might mean to adopt subjective forms of truth as the only knowable truths for nursing, and to accept the possibility of multiple co-existing realities. We understand the implications of such a philosophical stance for the epistemological basis of a practice science to be considerable, therefore we consider what it might mean for a practice-based discipline such as nursing to remain ambiguous on the question of truth, and examine the implications of failing to achieve consensus on what constitutes a truth claim. On the basis of this examination, we urge a cautious approach to the extremes of either position and argue for a more thoughtful and rigorous dialogue about ‘truth’ and knowledge in nursing practice, education, and research. (shrink)

Currently, much of the western world is experiencing a shift in the places where care is provided, namely from institutional settings like hospitals to diverse community settings such as the home. However, little is known about how language and the physical and social aspects of place interact to influence how health‐care is delivered and experienced in the home environment. Drawing on ethnographic participant observations of homecare nursing visits and semi‐structured interviews with Canadian family caregivers, care recipients and nurses, the intersection (...) of language, place and health‐care was explored in this secondary analysis. Our findings reveal four themes: homecare nurses view themselves as ‘guests’; home environments facilitate the development of nurse–client relationships; nurses adapt healthcare language to each home environment; and storytelling and illness narratives largely prevail during medical interactions in the home. These findings demonstrate the spatiality of language and how the home environment informs decisions regarding language use. Furthermore, these findings exemplify how language and place mutually influence the experiences and delivery of home health‐care. We conclude by discussing the importance of considering the language–place–healthcare intersection in order to gain a better understanding of medical exchanges in places and the associated implications for optimizing best nursing practice. (shrink)

Interpretations of family carer empowerment in much nursing research, and in home‐care practice and policy, rarely attend explicitly to families’ choice or control about the nature, extent or length of their involvement, or control over the impact on their own health. In this article, structural empowerment is used as an analytic lens to examine home‐care nurses’ interactions with families in one Western Canadian region. Data were collected from 75 hrs of fieldwork in 59 interactions (18 nurses visiting 16 families) and (...) interviews with 12 nurses and 11 family carers. Generally, nurses prioritized client empowerment, and their practice with families appeared oriented to supporting their role and needs as carers (i.e. rather than as unique individuals beyond the caring role), and reinforcing the caring role through validation and recognition. Although families generally expressed appreciation for these interactions, a structural empowerment lens illustrates how the broad context of home care shapes the interpretation and practice of empowerment in ways that can, paradoxically, be disempowering for families. Opportunities to effectively support family choice and control when a client is being cared for at home are discussed. (shrink)