What are the principles and processes of inspiring hope in cognitively impaired older adults within a continuing care environment?

This study focuses on the principles and processes that psychiatric/mental health (P/MH) nurses use to inspire hope in cognitively impaired older adults within a National Health Service (NHS) continuing care environment. Using a grounded theory method, the data were coded and analysed, in an attempt to produce an integrated conceptual framework of hope inspiration. This comprised four core variables: applied humanistic code, pragmatic knowledge, interpersonal relations and nurse as utilizer. The authors postulate a relationship between the function of caring, the activity of helping and the practice of instilling hope, as a basis for suggesting that inspiring hope to clients is one of the primary acts of P/MH nursing. The authors conclude that the four core variables are intertwined and inseparable from one another, and bound up with P/MH nursing practice. From this position, it is suggested that the processes of inspiring and instilling hope cannot be separated from the qualities of being a P/MH nurse. However, a more detailed and complete understanding of the concept of hope can increase the nurse's effectiveness as a carer.