Letter to the Editor
Article Outline
To the editor:
It was with great interest that I read the article “Ways of knowing hope: Carper's fundamental patterns as a guide for hope research with bereaved palliative caregivers.”1 Holtslander1 presents a unique connection of the concept of hope to Carper's2 patterns of knowing in nursing and to the bereaved palliative caregiver. The potential research questions that incorporate all 4 of the ways of knowing to fully develop nursing knowledge of hope for the bereaved palliative caregiver are organized in a logical way and warrant further inquiry. Despite these undertakings, I am concerned that Holtslander did not fully appreciate the multidimensional and complex attributes of hope and the utility of each way of knowing. For example, she presents ideas for future research with the “ultimate goal of understanding hope, building hope interventions, critically examining hope for marginalized populations, and using hope theories to evaluate the health care system.”1 This claim supports the empirical way of knowing without taking into consideration the esthetic, personal or ethical ways of knowing. It is my hope that as nursing knowledge of hope evolves, nurses will develop theories of hope using the method of inquiry most appropriate for each way of knowing, rather than relying only on empirical research methods.
References
PII: S0029-6554(08)00099-7
doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2008.04.008
© 2008 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
