title: The non-existence of non-compliant families: the influence of Humberto Maturana.
abstract: Non-compliance is not only an epistemological error but a biological impossibility. This profound statement arises from the influence of Humberto Maturana's revolutionary meta-theory of cognition. The definitions and significant implications of two major theoretical concepts of this meta-theory of cognition, namely structural determinism and objectivity-in-parenthesis, are discussed. These radical concepts challenge the approved North American Nursing Diagnostic Association's nursing diagnosis of non-compliance. Maturana's theory reveals the impossibility of instructive interaction, leading the authors to conclude the non-existence of non-compliant families.
authors.affiliation: Family Nursing Unit, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Levac
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003071:Cognition; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis / Q000592:standards*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation; D011582:Psychological Theory; D016312:Treatment Refusal