title: A theoretical approach to documentation of care.
abstract: The purpose of this column is to present a theoretical background for understanding nursing care documentation. The theory used was Eriksson's theory of health and suffering. An adaptation of Gadamer's hermenuetic method was used to apply the theory to a way of thinking about clinical practice. The hermeneutic dialogue took place between Eriksson's caring science texts and clinical nursing practice. The dialogue shows that relating different dimensions of the patient's health and suffering to the dimensions of care seems to provide the necessary prerequisites for the development of a theoretical background for the documentation of care. It also allows the patient's views and experiences to be revealed in the documents related to nursing care.
authors.affiliation: Development Manager, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Oili
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kärkkäinen
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eriksson
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D004282:Documentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D004645:Empathy; D005086:Existentialism; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009736:Nursing Process; D009737:Nursing Records / Q000592:standards; D009742:Nursing Theory; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing