Transforming care in nursing: a concept analysis

Abstract

Although the concept of ‘Transforming care’ is promising for improving healthcare, there is no consensus in the field as to its definition. The aim of this concept analysis is to develop a deeper understanding of the term ‘Transforming care’ within the nursing discipline, in order to facilitate its comprehension, implementation and evaluation. We performed a comprehensive literature review on electronic databases such as Medline (PubMed), Cinahl (Ebsco), Cochrane Library, PsycINFO (Ovid), Web of Science, Wiley- Blackwell, ScienceDirect and SpringerLink, and used Walker and Avant’s approach to analyse the concept. From the 20 studies selected for this analysis, three main attributes of ‘Transforming care’ were identified: patient-centredness, evidence-based change, and transformational leadership-driven. We suggest an operational definition to facilitate the implementation of the concept in practice. Furthermore, we propose that implementation is guided by the following key ideas: 1) fostering a culture of continuous improvement; 2) encouraging bottom-up initiatives; 3) promoting patient-centred care; and 4) using transformational leadership. Lastly, the evaluation of ‘Transforming care’ initiatives should assess care processes, and professionals’ and patients’ outcomes.