Holistic Nursing from the Dossey’s Theory of Integral Nursing Lens:A Narrative Review Study

Holistic nursing is a care process based on mutual interactions that lead to consciousness, empowerment, and well-being of the client, and also plays an important role in improving the performance and skills of nurses, promoting their professional status and independence and self-confidence. The aim of this study was to describe holistic nursing based on Dossey's Theory of Integral Nursing. 

 This is a narrative review study that was done in 2021 by searching databases such as PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Google Scholar, AND SID and using key terms /words of “integral nursing”, “integral theory”, “holistic nursing”, “nursing theory”, “Theory of integral nursing” in date interval January 2007  to 2021 October 2021. A total of 3 articles and 3 books were selected for review, after reviewing the retrieved literature and removing duplicated and unrelated items.

This grand theory is based on the philosophy and legacy of Florence Nightingale and the principles of the Holistic approach. Its building blocks are healing, the meta-paradigm of nursing, patterns of knowing, and the four quadrants that adapted from Wilber's integral theory consist of the individual interior (personal /intentional), the individual exterior (physiology /behavioral), the collective interior (shared / cultural), the collective exterior (systems /structures). 

The theory of integral nursing guides the science and art of nursing for integral practice, education, research, and health-care policy. Also, it provides individualized care for clients, expands the professional roles of nurses to a global level, and improves inter-professional relationships. Acquainting nurses with this new approach to holistic care and developing nursing education programs based on it can improve the quality of patient care;The development of professional independence, the promotion of inter-professional cooperation and ultimately the expansion of global health.