Holtslander Reply to Connelly

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The author's comments on this letter:

Thank you for your observations and for encouraging an ongoing discussion and debate of the philosophy behind the methods for developing knowledge in nursing. The overall purpose of the article was to specifically discuss how the ways of knowing provide a framework for research and in no way excludes the esthetic, personal or ethical ways of knowing in the development of hope theories, as your letter suggests.

Hope research being conducted at the University of Saskatchewan (www.usask.ca/nursing/research/livingwithhope/) includes qualitative methodology applied to develop an emerging theory of hope¹ which was then pilot-tested as a theory-based intervention for family caregivers.² Many of the ways of knowing are being applied through research with marginalized populations and a diversity of perspectives by our Quality End of Life research group http://www.usask.ca/qeol/index.htm

As a nursing practitioner, educator, and researcher, I readily acknowledge that theories of hope must be further developed, understood, and modified in an ongoing, reflective process that builds the art and science of nursing by applying the most appropriate ways of knowing to the task at hand.

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References 

1. Holtslander L, Duggleby W, Williams A, Wright K. The experience of hope for informal caregivers of palliative patients. J Palliat Care. 2005;21:285–292
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2. Duggleby W, Wright K, Degner LF, Cammer A, Holtslander L. Developing a living with hope program for caregivers of family members with advanced cancer. J Palliat Care. 2007;23:24–31
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