WATSON’S THEORY OF HUMAN CARING
The practice of caring is central to nursing
MARGARET JEAN WATSON
 Southern West Virginia on June 10,1940
 Education: BSN (1964) at Boulder campus in
Colorado
 PhD in Educational Psychology and Counseling
(1973) at the Graduate School, Boulder Campus.
 Distinguished Professor of Nursing at the
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
 Widely published author and received several
awards, six Honorary Doctoral Degrees
including 3 International Honorary Doctorates
(Sweden, UK, Canada)
WATSON’S THEORY AND THE FOUR MAJOR CONCEPTS
(METAPARADIGMS)
Person - Human being is viewed as greater than and
different from the sum of his/ her parts
Health refers to unity and harmony within the mind,
body and soul
- High level of overall physical, mental and
social functioning; general adaptive
maintenance level of daily functioning; the
absence of illness
Environment Caring and nursing has existed in every
society. It is not transmitted from generation to
generation by genes but transmitted by the culture of
profession as a unique way of coping with its
environment
Nursing Concerned with promoting health, preventing
illness and caring for the sick and restoring health.
Holistic care being central
- Watson’s Definition of Nursing: “A human
science of persons and human’s health-
illness experience that are mediated by
professional, personal, scientific, esthetic
human transaction”
The relationship between human caring and
nursing, this initial work laid the foundation for what
was to become the Theory of Human Caring (1977) and
Nursing: Human Science and Human Care
SEVEN ASSUMPTIONS OF WATSON’S THEORY
1. Caring can be effectively demonstrated and
practiced only interpersonally
2. Effective caring promotes health and individual
or family growth
3. Caring responses accept the patient as he or she
is now, as well as what he or she may become
4. A caring environment is one that offers the
development of potential while allowing the
patient to choose the best action for him or
herself at a given point in time
5. Caring is more healthogenic than is curing
6.
7. Caring consists of carative factors that result in
the satisfaction of certain human needs
“carative” instead “curative” to distinguish between
nursing and medicine. Whereas curative factors aim at
curing the patient’s disease, carative factors aim at the
caring process that helps the person attain (or maintain)
health or die a peaceful death”.
WATSON’S 10 CARATIVE FACTORS
1. Formation of Humanistic – Altruistic system of
Values – satisfaction through giving & extension
of the sense of self. EMBRACE.
2. Instillation of Faith – Hope – INSPIRE.
3. Cultivation of sensibility to one’s self and to
others – TRUST.
4. Development of a helping – trusting, human
caring relationship. NURTURE.
5. Promotion and acceptance of the expression of
positive and negative feelings. – FORGIVE.
6. Systematic use of creative problem – solving
caring process – DEEPEN.
7. Promotion of transpersonal teaching –
learning. – Separates caring from curing.
BALANCE.
8. Provision for a supportive, protective and
corrective mental, physical, societal and
spiritual environment
9. Assistance with gratification of human needs –
patients must satisfy lower-orders before higher
orders. MINISTER.
10. Allowance for existential – phenomenological-
spiritual forces – go beyond 10 carative factors.
OPEN.
APPLICATION OF WATSON’S THEORY IN NURSING
PRACTICE
 Through love and caring, better care for the
patient will be given
 Sharing something of yourself with your
patient will establish a connection, an
intimacy, which allow that person to relate
to the nurse
 Treat patients as holistic beings
 Treat patients with positive regard
 Promote health through knowledge and
intervention
 Spend uninterrupted time with patient
Watson’s Theory of human caring is based on
the values of kindness, concern, love of self and others
and respect for the spiritual dimension of person.