title: Nursing theory and the delivery of compassionate care.
abstract: Compassionate care is a priority in current healthcare policy. However, its definition is amorphous, leading to difficulties standardising it in practice. This article discusses how nursing theory is central to the delivery of compassionate care. It emphasises the need to develop a theoretical framework that reflects the eclectic and pragmatic nature of nursing practice, and the importance of using patient feedback as an indicator of the quality of care and as a basis for adapting theoretical hypotheses.
authors: Adult nursing, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, Scotland.
authors: Louisa
authors: L
authors: Power
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004645:Empathy; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009742:Nursing Theory; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000941:ethics; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: compassionate care; nursing praxis; nursing theory; person-centred care; theory development