The meaning of hope and generic caring practices to nurture hope in a rural village in the Dominican Republic.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of hope and generic caring practices to nurture hope among people of a rural village in the Dominican Republic. Ethnonursing methods were used to gather and analyze data from which a definition of hope for this group of people was developed: "Hope is an essential but dynamic life force that grows out of faith in God, is supported by relationships, resources and work, and results in the energy necessary to work for a desired future. Hope gives meaning and happiness." The information obtained also demonstrated that hope interacts with nearly all domains in the Sunrise Model. Generic care practices discovered among this population included working together, advising each other to work hard, and sharing hope itself. Implications for further research are discussed.