Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers
Search current nursing journals for examples of the development, analysis, or use of mid-range theories in the discipline of nursing. Debate trends in the development and use of mid-range theories in nursing research with colleagues. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
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Mid-range Theories
Introduction
Fig. 17: Nursing Theorists
Middle range, or mid-range, nursing theories lie between the most abstract theories, such as grand nursing theories, models, or conceptual frameworks, and more circumscribed, concrete theories, such as practice theories. Compared to grand theories, mid-range theories are more specific, have fewer concepts, and encompass a more limited aspect of the real world. Concepts are relatively concrete and can be operationally defined.
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Nursing has appeared to recognize mid-range theory as the latest step in knowledge development, and there is broad acceptance of the need to develop mid-range theories to support nursing practice. Mid-range theories are also increasingly used in nursing research studies. Many researchers prefer to work with mid-range theories rather than grand theories or conceptual frameworks because they provide a better basis for generating testable hypotheses and addressing particular client populations. A review of nursing research journals and dissertation abstracts indicates that nursing research is currently being used in the development and testing of a number of mid-range theories, and mid-range theories are frequently being used as frameworks for investigation. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
Students will consider the relationship between nursing knowledge and nursing practice, with emphasis on the relationship of mid-range theories to aspects of nursing practice, research, education, and administration. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
Several methods for development of mid-range theories have been identified in the nursing literature. Mid-range theories emerge from combining research and practice and building on the work of others. Sources used to generate mid-range theory include literature reviews, qualitative research, field studies, conceptual models, nursing practice, clinical practice guidelines, theories from other disciplines, and statistical analysis of empirical data. Liehr and Smith identified five approaches for mid-range theory generation. The purpose of this module is to examine the purposes, characteristics, and concepts of mid-range theory and to describe the source and development process of mid-range theories from these five approaches.
Outcomes
Upon completion of the module, students will be able to:
- understand the purposes of mid-range theories.
- discuss the characteristics and concepts of mid-range theories.
- describe the sources and development of mid-range theories.
- develop a concept of interest into a preliminary mid-range theory.
Topics Index
The following topics are covered in this module.
- Purposes of Mid-range Theory
- Characteristics of Mid-range Theory
- Concepts and Relationships for Mid-range Theories
- Theories from Research and Practice
- Theories from a Grand Theory
- Combining Theories
- Theories from Non-Nursing Disciplines
- Theories from Practice Guidelines
These topics are designed to direct your readings, assist you in the development of assignments, and prepare you for module discussions.
1. Purposes of Mid-range Theory
Nursing theories vary in scope, or the level of abstraction. Theories that are broader in scope are called grand range theories. These theories are abstract and give broad perspective to the goals and structures of nursing practice. They are not testable, rather, they are viewed as knowledge-generated models from which hypotheses can be derived and tested, and they are useful as a theoretical framework for the development of mid-range theories. Middle range theories are limited in scope and contain a limited number of variables; they involve abstractions that are close enough to observed data to be incorporated in propositions that permit empirical testing. Thus, they can easily be taken to the operational level. They are theories that describe, explain, and predict phenomena of concern to nursing as well as prescribe actions in response to those phenomena. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
Both grand and mid-range theories are important for knowledge development in the discipline of nursing. Grand theories are important to provide a larger picture of the phenomena. However, a deeper understanding about the relationships among those phenomena is provided by mid-range theories. Thus, the discipline of nursing has been concentrating its efforts in developing more mid-range theories, which are able to direct research and practice as well as strengthen the linkage among areas of theory, research, and practice.
Mid-range theories were first suggested in the discipline of sociology in the 1960s, and were introduced to nursing in 1974. At that time, mid-range theories were useful for emerging disciplines because they were more readily operationalized and addressed through research than grand theories. However, more than fifteen years elapsed before there was a collaborative call for mid-range theory development in nursing.
Development of mid-range theories is supported by the frequent critique of the abstract nature of grand theories and the difficulty of their application to practice and research. The purpose of mid-range theories is to describe, explain, or predict phenomena, and unlike grand theory, they must be explicit and testable. Therefore, they are easier to apply in practice situations and as frameworks for research studies. In addition, mid-range theories have the potential to guide nursing interventions and change conditions of a situation to enhance nursing care. A major role of mid-range theory is to define or refine the substantive component of nursing science and practice.
Each mid-range theory addresses relatively concrete and specific phenomena by stating what the phenomena are, why they occur, and how they occur. In addition, mid-range theories can provide structure for the interpretation of behavior, situations, and events. They support understanding of the connections between diagnosis and outcomes, and understanding of the connections between interventions and outcomes. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
Overall, mid-range theories:
- are more useful in research than grand theories because of their low level of abstraction and ease of operationalization
- tend to support prediction better than grand theories due to circumscribed range and specificity of the concepts
- are more likely to be adopted in practice because their relative simplicity eases the process of developing interventions for identified health problems.
Like theory in general, mid-range theory has three functions in nursing knowledge development:
- Mid-range theories are used as theoretical frameworks for research studies.
- Mid-range theories are open to use in practice and should be tested by research.
- Mid-range theories can be the scientific end product that expresses nursing knowledge.
2. Characteristic of Mid-range Theory
Several characteristics identify nursing theories as mid-range. First, the principal ideas of mid-range theories are relatively simple, straightforward, and general, Second, mid-range theories consider a limited number of variables or concepts; they have a particular focus and consider a limited aspect of reality. In addition, they are receptive to empirical testing and can be consolidated into more wide-ranging theories. Third, mid-range theories focus primarily on client problems and outcomes, as well as the effects of nursing interventions on client outcomes. Finally, mid-range theories are specific to nursing and may specify an area of practice, age range of the client, nursing actions or interventions, and proposed outcomes. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
The more frequently cited mid-range theories tend to be those that are clearly stated, easy to understand, internally consistent, and coherent. They deal with current nursing perspectives and address socially relevant topics that solve meaningful and persistent problems. Overall, mid-range theories for nursing combine proposed relationships between specific, well-defined concepts with the ability to measure or objectively code concepts. Therefore, mid-range theories contain concepts and statements from which hypotheses may be logically derived and empirically tested, and easily adopted to guide nursing practice. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
The characteristics of middle range nursing theory are:
- not comprehensive, but not narrowly focused
- some generalizations across settings and specialties
- limited number of concepts
- clearly stated propositions
- may generate testable hypotheses.
3. Concepts and Relationships for Mid-range Theories
Mid-range theories consist of two or more concepts and a specified relationship between the concepts. They address concepts that are toward the middle of the continuum with the metaparadigm concepts (nursing, person, health, and environment) at one end and specific concrete actions or events (i.e., medications, preoperative teaching, and electrolyte management) at the other. The concepts should be discrete, observable, and sufficiently abstract to be applied across multiple settings and used with clients with differing problems. Examples from the nursing literature include theories describing health promotion, comfort, coping, resilience, uncertainty, pain, grief, fatigue, self-care, adaptation, self-transcendence, and transitions. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
Mid-range theories link discrete and observable phenomena or concepts in relationship statements. In mid-range theory, relationships are explicitly stated and, preferably, they are unidirectional. Relationships can be of several types. The most common are causal relationships that state a change in the value of one variable or concept is associated with a change in the value of another variable or concept.
4. Theories from Research and Practice
The current emphasis of nursing theory development focuses on efforts to construct, test, refine, and evaluate mid-range theories. To help advance the discipline, nurses are encouraged to write and publish articles that describe mid-range theories and report research studies in which a mid-range theory was used. This process of mid-range theory generation and refinement may further develop the discipline’s knowledge base. Therefore, nurses in all settings need to strive to learn about existing or emerging mid-range theories, or seek to develop and describe theories that will explain phenomena they observe in practice. Mid-range Theories – Nursing Essay Assignment Papers.
