Coping: an essential element of nursing.

How well a person copes is central in determining his or her well-being, no matter how ill he or she is. Without an accurate appreciation of what coping is and how it may be facilitated, attempts to help patients may be both ineffective and harmful. But the subject is multifaceted and poses many problems for clinicians and researchers alike. This paper attempts to synthesize available knowledge on coping from various disciplines and apply it to life as nurses know it.