Theories of hope: are they relevant for palliative care nurses and their practice?

Hope is a multidimensional construct that is gaining recognition in nursing theory, research and practice. It is evident that there are few hope theories that are specific to the work and lives of palliative care nurses. As such, little attention has been paid to analyzing the relevance of specific theories to palliative nursing practice. To address these issues, the objectives of this article are: 1) to introduce and critique selected theories of hope with evaluation of their relevance to palliative care nurses; and 2) to identify the conceptual gaps in knowledge that emerged through the critique process, and suggest future research directions for the development of hope theory in palliative nursing practice. An exploration into the dimensions of palliative care nurses' hope and the potential influence of their hope on the care they provide may have future implications for their quality of life and the quality of life of their patients.