Nursing perspectives on Integral Theory in nursing practice and education: An interpretive descriptive study.

While for decades nursing has advocated for theory-informed practice, more recent attention has tended to focus on mid-range theory rather than the earlier focus on developing grand theory to encompass all of nursing practice. However, there has been continued interest in the holistic nursing community on grand theory and, in particular, on Integral Theory. Although Integral Theory's four-quadrant (AQAL) perspective is familiar in nursing, little is known about how it is being used by nurses in direct practice. The purpose of this interpretive descriptive study was to provide a practice-based perspective on Ken Wilber's Integral Theory in professional nursing practice. The following research question was investigated: How does Integral Theory assist nurses in describing and understanding their professional work? Nurses participating in this study used Integral Theory as a map or heuristic that gave structure to an inquiry process in professional nursing practice and in nursing education in a manner that was holonic, multiperspectival, and self-reflective. Challenges constraining nurses' use of Integral Theory included its intricacy, as well as contextual factors in practice environments. Implications for nursing practice and education for the use of Integral Theory's meta-framework are described.

Wilber's Integral Theory and Dossey's Theory of Integral Nursing: An Examination of Two Integral Approaches in Nursing Scholarship.

The purpose of this article is to examine Dossey's theory of integral nursing in relation to its major theoretical source, Wilber's integral theory. Although several nursing scholars have written about integral theory in relation to nursing scholarship and practice, Dossey's theory of integral nursing may be influencing how nurses take up integral theory in a significant way due to an extensive outreach in the holistic nursing community. Despite this wide circulation, the theory of integral nursing has yet to be reviewed in the nursing literature. This article (a) compares Dossey's theory of integral nursing with Wilber's integral theory and (b) contrasts Dossey's integral approach with another integral approach used by other scholars of integral theory.

Application of integral theory in holistic nursing practice.

This study explores the utility of Integral Theory's metatheoretical framework in supporting holistic nursing practice. A case example is provided to illustrate how integral theory allows for the organization, integration, and application of nursing knowledge generated from multiple perspectives in complex nursing contexts.