Nursing Theory
Finding nursing theory based articles can be quite difficult. The pages below have collected information about nursing theories and theorists. Try the strategies below to increase the likelihood of discovering the articles you need. If you need additional help, please contact Maribeth for an appointment.
- Nursing Theory Links
Comprehensive list of nursing theory home pages, arranged by theorist
- Nursing Theory Page
University of San Diego collection of nursing theory links
To locate articles that apply nursing theory to research and practice, search the CINAHL database or the PubMed database.
Searching CINAHL for nursing theories
• Look in the CINAHL thesaurus for Nursing Theory or Theoretical Nursing Models subject headings.
• Search for the name of the theory by putting it in quotes, e.g. "UCSF Symptom Management Theory" or "Symptom Management Theory".
• Do an author search for articles written by a specific theorist (e.g. Dorothea Orem).
• Try a focused subject search on the specific theory you need; CINAHL has several subject headings for different theoretical models including Orem Self-Care Model, Roy Adaptation Model, Watson's Theory of Caring, etc.
• To really narrow down your search, combine a nursing theory subject heading with another subject heading. For example, if you need information on Orem's theory and patients with cancer, combine the two subject headings of Orem Self-Care Model and Cancer Patients. This may be TOO narrow so be prepared to broaden your search if you end up with no results.
If you are searching PubMed, you can use the same process to find nursing theory articles. The MeSH subject headings in PubMed are Nursing Theory or Nursing Model - combine them with OR plus distinctive words from the theory name for the best results.
Maribeth Slebodnik, BSN