Week 6 Group Discussion 1: Practice Theory Evaluation

For this discussion post, our group will be collaborating regarding the complexity, clarity, parsimony, sociocultural utility, and the relevance to the article Moving Beyond Dwelling in Suffering: A Situation-Specific Theory of Men’s Healing from Childhood Maltreatment by Willis et al. (2015). As stated in the article by Willis et al. (2015), the theory in relation to healing is complex. The authors explain that men’s exposure to childhood maltreatment, including neglect, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse have not been studied in depth, further complicating their findings. The theory is understandable to an extent. Described as an abstract theory, Roger’s Science of Unitary Human Beings (SUHB) can be perceived as more difficult to comprehend. This theory could be made more understandable if the authors had simplified SUHB prior to explaining it in relation to men’s childhood maltreatment. However, since it is an abstract theory, it is hard to simplify without further explanation.

The situation-specific theory of men healing from childhood maltreatment is concise and easy to follow. The background theories guiding this situation specific theory were wordier and more difficult to follow. The comparison of Roger’s science of unitary human beings (SUHB) principles of homeo- dynamics with situation specific theory concepts increased the level of understanding regarding Roger’s principles. For example, the concept of moving beyond suffering is identified as a reflection of Roger’s principle of helicy. The parallels drawn between the two theories helps to clarify the more difficult aspects of Roger’s SUHB theory and provides a deeper understanding of the situation specific theory. One area the theory could have improved on to increase readers comprehension would be to identify the definitions more clearly when developing the relationship between SUHB and the situation specific theory. Kramer (2018) defined the principles of SUHB in a clear, easy to follow way which increased my understanding of the theory. For example, helicy was defined as diversity in the HEF-environmental field interaction and its emerging pattern (Kramer, 2018). The structure of Kramer’s definitions was easy to follow and easy to identify within the literature. I found areas of Fawcett &Willis’s reading to be wordy and difficult to follow at times.

This theory attends to diversity. One way that it addresses diversity is the knowledge of trauma suffered by males. This theory allows men to acknowledge their own feelings and healing process as an individual, separate from how society may stereotype their feeling or experiences. For example, one dimension of moving beyond suffering is called breaking through the masculine veneer (BTMV), which according to the authors, specifically reflects men’s challenges with living as a male survivor of CM. Key aspects include recognizing CM, acknowledging the restriction of masculine social norms on healing as a man and assessing and expressing emotions beyond those emotions socially prescribed as typical and appropriate for masculine expression such as anger, revenge, or aggression (Fawcett & Willis, 2015). This allows for men to start the healing process and accept their own perceptions of CM as an individual, not how society may expect them to perceive their own trauma.

Martha Roger’s theory is relevant to nursing because it gives us the opportunity to look at a person as a whole (McEwen & Wills, 2018). Before her theory, nursing was about treating the immediate problem of the patient, never taking time to know who they were, what they were going through, how they were feeling. But after the SUHB theory, nurses started looking and examining the whole person. Today when you go for a physical exam or any medical appointment, the nurse or doctor will ask about your mental and physical health. They want to know are you safe at home, do you have shelter, food. Doctors and nurses ask such questions not because they want to get into the patient’s personal business but to make sure all is well and help when they can. This has been helpful because as nurses we have been able to refer patients to different specialists for evaluation simply by asking them questions. Some end up being diagnosed with various illnesses or preventing them from developing certain health complications.

References

Fawcett, D.G., & Willis, D.M., (2015). Moving beyond dwelling in suffering: A situation-specific theory of men’s healing from childhood maltreatment (PDF). Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(1), 57–63.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• Student paper example
• Citing Sources
• The Writing Center is a great resource

Kramer, M.R., (2018). Online learning and the human energy field: Implications for the science of unitary human being. The Journal of Rogerian Nursing Science, 24(2), 11-30.

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2018). Chapter 9. In Theoretical basis for nursing. (pp. 188-189). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Value: 100 points

Due: In an effort to facilitate scholarly discourse, create your initial post by Day 3, and reply to at least two of your classmates, on two separate days, by Day 7.

Gradebook Category: Discussions

Overview

For this discussion, you will be evaluating Willis, DeSanto-Madeya, & Fawcett (2015). Moving beyond dwelling in suffering: A situation-specific theory of men’s healing from childhood maltreatment (PDF). Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(1), 57–63.

Initial Post

For your initial post, your group should collaborate to address the following:

Situation-Specific Theory Evaluation Criteria

1. Complexity/Simplicity: Is the theory complex or simple? Explain.
2. Clarity
3. Is the theory understandable? Why or why not?
4. How could this theory be made more understandable? Describe.
5. Is the theory concise or wordy?
6. Provide examples.
7. Does the theory attend to diversity?
8. If so, how?
9. If not, suggest one way it can be refined to address diversity using at least one reference to support your suggestion.
10. Accuracy
    1. Is the theory relevant to nursing today?
    2. If yes, provide an example of its relevance.
    3. If not, please explain.
11. Parsimony
12. Socio-cultural Utility

Your initial post should contain be a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 750 words. The post should integrate a minimum of three readings and/or other evidence-based research articles no more than three years old and use APA formatting for citations and references.

Reply Posts

Your group will collaborate to compose replies to at least two other groups’ posts. Your replies should note whether your group agrees with the other groups’ evaluations, with a rationale for that position. Utilize at least two scholarly references to substantiate your claims/position. Choose one student from your group to post the two replies. All students in a group will be awarded the same number of points. Ensure that you use a minimum of two scholarly sources in APA style in your replies.

Please refer to the Grading Rubric for details on how this activity will be graded. The described expectations meet the passing level of 80%. Students are directed to review the Discussion Grading Rubric for criteria which exceed expectations.

Posting to the Discussion Forum

1. Select the appropriate Thread.
2. Select Reply.
3. Create your post.
4. Select Post to Forum.

C

The situational-specific theory of men’s healing from maltreatment during childhood is a complex theory. It consists of four multidimensional concepts that are interpreted from themes discovered from the findings of a study of men who had been exposed to childhood maltreatment. The theory displays links of the pattern manifestations and hemodynamic principles with the concepts of situation-specific theory. The conceptual model used is Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings. The conceptual model concepts are human and environmental energy field pattern manifestations: Perceptions and expressions reflecting and Experiences reflecting helicy, resonancy, and integrity. The concepts included are moving beyond suffering, desiring release from suffering, dwelling in suffering, and experiencing wellbeing. The relational proposition of the theory is the relation between moving beyond suffering and experiencing wellbeing is moderated by desiring release from suffering and dwelling in suffering. This theory is complex because it is related to the complex evolving nature of healing and is situation-specific. In practice, this multistep approach that includes pattern manifestation and assessment, mutual patterning to create a healing environment, and pattern manifestation evaluation to incorporate modalities for healing.

The situation-specific nursing theory of men’s healing from childhood maltreatment is clearly explained by the authors because they included a description of the theory and provided a couple of diagrams to help visualize its purpose (Willis et al., 2015). Although the authors explained why they didn’t include participants quotes, incorporating their quotes would have made the theory more understandable because it would have made it more relatable and personal (Willis et al., 2015). Additionally, the quotes of the participants and their background information would have made the theory more valid. For example, there was a lack of stated differences among the participants culture and available resources during and after childhood participants maltreatment. Providing this information could have identified the applicability of this theory to different populations.

Parsimony is concerned with whether the theory is stated clearly and concisely. The criterion is met when the statements clarify rather than obscure the topic of interest (Peterson & Bredow, 2015). This theory is wordy; however, it does achieve the goals of parsimony in that it does clarify rather than obscure the topic of interest. It is a complex topic, turned situation specific theory, based on a general conceptual model of nursing – Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings. The population and situation of interest are clearly stated: The population of interest for our theory is adult men survivors of childhood maltreatment (Willis et al., 2015). The specific health-related situation of interest is the pattern manifestations of childhood maltreatment (Willis et al., 2015). The theory equips nurses with knowledge to structure their practice to effectively treat this population. The theory also clearly conveys its contributions to nursing: The situation-specific theory advances understanding of men’s healing from CM and can be used to guide nursing practice, education, and research endeavors within the context of the SUHB (Willis et al., 2015). As previously stated, this is a complex topic, however if this were ones’ nursing focus, the theory does provide clear practice methodology, which is both valuable and constructive.

Sociocultural utility is important in the assessment of a theory (McEwen & Wills, 2019). By examining a theory’s inclusion of people of varying socioeconomic statuses, beliefs, cultures and ages to be able to apply findings to other societies. In other words, the results should be as culturally competent as can be.

The study does attempt to attend to diversity within the population examined – adult males who experienced childhood maltreatment. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 64 (Willis et al., 2015). By utilizing the method of snowball sampling, the researchers made an attempt to recruit participants who otherwise may have not been reached.

One way in which this study can address socio-cultural utility is by addressing socioeconomic status. This study examined community dwelling adult males who experienced childhood maltreatment from a Northeastern city in the United States. The participants were recruited by means of written vehicles such as advertisements and snowball sampling (Willis et al., 2015). Although snowball sampling reaches possible participants that may have otherwise not been reached, recruiting in a written manner can exclude participants who may be illiterate due to low socioeconomic status or homelessness. The study noted that only community dwelling adult males were included. Additionally, the study was limited to a city in the Northeast (Willis et al., 2015). The urban setting in only one city excludes the experience and possible differences that could be noted culturally across the United States and globally. The study noted that a different conclusion could be drawn from a different population due to cultural differences and beliefs (Willis et al., 2015).

The situation-specific theory is relevant to nursing today as it provides the chance throughout patient care to help men heal from childhood maltreatment. Nurses caring for males who experienced childhood maltreatment are gifted the opportunity to engage in a few steps of Roger’s science of unitary human beings (SUHB) (Willis et al., 2019, pg. 57). Assessment of a man’s willingness to let go of his experienced suffering, providing a healing environment for the patient to heal himself, and assisting with a transition in mindfulness from suffering to wellbeing are some ways this theory is relevant to the nursing practice (Willis et al., 2019, pg. 62).

References:

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. (2019). Theoretical Basis for Nursing Practice (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Peterson, S. J., & Bredow, T. S. (2020). Middle range theories: Application to nursing research (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Willis, DeSanto-Madeya, & Fawcett (2015). Moving beyond dwelling in suffering: A situation-specific theory of men’s healing from childhood maltreatment (PDF). Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(1), 57–63.

D

A situation specific theory is defined as a set of related ideas comprised of relationships based on a specific population and applied to a specific situation (Ross et al., 2020). In the article Moving Beyond Dwelling in Suffering: A Situation-Specific Theory of Men’s Healing from Childhood Maltreatment, Wills et al., (2015) aims to develop a situation-specific theory of men’s healing from maltreatment during childhood, utilizing Roger’s science of unitary human beings (SUHB).

Initially it was difficult to understand the theory presented in this article. To increase the comprehension of the article, we used the diagram provided in the article to follow the flow of the concepts. To make the theory more understandable a Longitudinal Study would be recommended to be conducted like Easton et al. (2019). After controlling for demographic, parental, and health factors, men with CM histories had a higher incidence of depression (Willis et al., 2015). The researchers found that social support can help to mitigate depression and recommends that practitioners should assess men for history of CM and provided the necessary research to help them to seek treatment for potential depression.The parsimony of this article, a hermeneutic phenomenological study is complex, due to its multiple parts of theory that are being studied. Understanding the grand theorist Rogers’ science of unitary human beings was difficult for those to follow who are not intimately familiar with the situation specific of men healing from maltreatment during their childhood, because of its abstract concepts. We found the theory to be to general and not concise or particularly specific. The definition of healing was defined in multiple ways. An example which made the parsimony difficult to understand was the fact that it was not clear on how one would be certain that these men objectively were able find meaning, choosing to live well, caring for the self-using holistic healing methods, and engaging in humanizing relationships in an objective manner. Also, per the article the nurse would need to provide a holistic environment to promote their healing, which is a general statement which could be applied to other population that has experienced different types of trauma. The articles are ambiguous as there is no exact measurement to the stated claims of moving from beyond suffering to experiencing wellbeing. The use of abstract concepts as healing from Childhood maltreatment be it be from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse (Willis et al., 2021). Additionally, experiencing well being is self-reported by the study participant that their holistic wellbeing is gained through mind body and spiritually connection to the universe and not dwell in the suffering phase is subjective. A longitudinal study is needed to more accurately quantify these healing methods utilized in this study CM men (Easton & Kong, 2017).

This study discusses a very specific population, which in itself means it is not a particularly diverse group. The article uses a study comprised of 52 adult men from a northeastern city in the U.S who were healing from childhood maltreatment (Willis et al., 2015). The article states that it did intentionally seek out “ethnically, racially, educationally and socioeconomically diverse men,” which contributes to the diversity of the study, but also states that a different theory could be developed from a different population of men exposed to childhood maltreatment (Willis et al, 2015, p. 62).

This article is relevant to nursing practice today. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that nearly 3 in 4 children regularly suffer from physical and psychological maltreatment (World Health Organization, 2020). The WHO also states that a child who is abused is more likely to abuse a child as an adult (World Health Organization, 2020). Therefore, this study is important as it helps guide nursing practice. This article demonstrates suggestions for nursing including assessment of the “pattern manifestation” as well as “voluntary mutual patterning” which includes implementing mediation, calming environments, guided imagery, and a number of holistic practices to aid men who are affected by childhood mistreatment (Willis, et al., 2015.)References

Easton, S. D., & Kong, J. (2017). Mental health INDICATORS fifty years later: A population-based study of men with histories of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 63, 273–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.09.011

Easton, S. D., Kong, J., Gregas, M. C., Shen, C., & Shafer, K. (2019). Child Sexual Abuse and Depression in Late Life for Men: A Population-Based, Longitudinal Analysis. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 74(5), 842–852. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx114

Ross, R., Letvak, S., Sheppard, F., Jenkins, M., & Almotairy, M. (2020). Systemic assessment of depressive symptoms among registered nurses: A new situation-specific theory. Nursing Outlook, 68(2), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2019.08.007

Willis, D. G., DeSanto-Madeya, S., & Fawcett, J. (2015). Moving Beyond Dwelling in Suffering: A Situation-Specific Theory of Men’s Healing from Childhood Maltreatment. Situation Specific Theories: Development, Utilization, and Evaluation in Nursing, 181–191. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63223-6_13

World Health Organization (2020, 8 June). Child mistreatment. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment