The nursing theories are usually divided into grand theories, middle-range theories, and practical theories. In this context, grand and middle-range theories provide concepts of nursing that can be referred to as the main constructs of the practice, as it is in the case of grand theories, or ideas that can be applied to the research and nursing cases, as it is in the case of middle-range theories. Different researchers use various classifications to discuss Madeleine M. Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care: Diversity and Universality because it explains such main concepts of nursing as ‘culture’ and ‘care’ and it can be applied to the research as Dr. Leininger developed the ideas of transcultural nursing and the principles of the ethnonursing research (McFarland, Mixer, Wehbe-Alamah, & Burk, 2012, p. 260; Ray, 2013, p. 142). From this point, Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care can be discussed as actively applied to the research in order to study the relationship between cultural patterns, diversity, universality, and the provided care.
The main assumptions that give the basis for Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care are associated with the idea that care is the central concept of nursing and that the culture affects the process of caring significantly as people differ in their beliefs, expectations, and responses. Thus, Dr. Leininger stated that nursing is based on the care, and it should be both humanistic and scientifically supported (Ray, 2013, p. 143). The healing can be effective when the required care is provided. In addition, the care can lead to positive results when the cultural expectations of patients are addressed (McFarland et al., 2012). Cultural visions and patterns can be both diverse and universal, and nurses should pay attention to them as the cultural and social environment affects each aspect of the person’s life, including his or her needs and perceptions of care.
Therefore, Dr. Leininger proposed the principles of transcultural nursing and developed the ethnonursing methodology that allows the application of the theory in research. The idea of transcultural nursing is based on the cultural and anthropological theories, according to which nurses should study care constructs in the cultural contexts in order to discover what beliefs, worldviews, and social factors can influence caring (McFarland et al., 2012). Nurse educators pay much attention to helping nurse students and practitioners understand how cultural aspects can be significant to affect the care process and outcomes, and what areas should be studied in detail.
In its turn, the ethnonursing research methodology proposed by Dr. Leininger is important to provide the research tools for studying and discovering culturally diverse contexts that influence the practice. This methodology is applied to the research in order to “discover, describe, and systematically analyze the care expressions, patterns, and practices of people in their naturalistic environmental contexts” (McFarland et al., 2012, p. 262). Researchers can use this theory for the purpose of guiding their studies and discoveries in the field of the cross-cultural nursing when different contexts, interactions of cultures, and particular cultural patterns, as well as social factors can change the approach to practicing. As a result, this theory is referred to when nurses require learning more about the work with patients from diverse environments to address their needs.
Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care: Diversity and Universality is one of the most important theoretical frameworks in nursing. The reason is that it provides not only the discussion of concepts, but it also includes the research methodology to study the aspects of the nursing practice in detail. Therefore, the theory is actively applied in the nursing education and research environments.
References
McFarland, M. R., Mixer, S. J., Wehbe-Alamah, H., & Burk, R. (2012). Ethnonursing: A qualitative research method for studying culturally competent care across disciplines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(3), 259-279.
Ray, M. A. (2013). Madeleine M. Leininger, 1925–2012. Qualitative Health Research, 23(1), 142-144.