The Person-centred Nursing Framework: A Mid-range Theory for Nursing Practice

Background: Person-centredness is a global movement in healthcare that prioritises the human experience and places compassion, dignity and humanistic caring principles at the centre of healthcare delivery. Person-centred care has a long association with nursing, however, the implementation of person-centredness in nursing practice remains challenging and requires a sustained focus on the development of healthful workplace cultures.
Aim: This is a discussion paper that focuses on the theoretical development of person-centred nursing, drawing out the uniqueness of the Person-centred Nursing Framework to the discipline of nursing and it’s relevance as a middle range theory for nursing practice.
Discussion: The Person-centred Nursing Framework is founded on the concepts of caring and person-centredness and is positioned as a middle range theory. The evolution of the Framework as a means of operationalising person-centredness in practice is integral to a programme of research and scholarly activity spanning over two decades. Evidence of outcomes arising from the implementation of person-centred nursing are presented, demonstrating an enhanced care experience for both patients and nurses.
Conclusions: The Person-centred Nursing Framework highlights the complexity of person-centred nursing, and through the articulation of the key constructs, emphasizes the contextual, attitudinal and moral dimensions of humanistic caring practices. The PCNF is clearly positioned within the hierarchy of nursing knowledge, thus drawing out its uniqueness to the discipline of nursing.