Hope in nursing research: a meta-analysis of the ontological and epistemological foundations of research on hope.

The purpose of this study is to describe the ontological basis of hope and the epistemological solutions adopted in research on hope by reviewing research articles concerned with the subject in the field of nursing science. The material consisted of 46 articles published between 1975 and 1993, and the examination was based on the meta-analysis method. References to the ontology of hope were inductively clustered according to the principle of continuous comparison. For the analysis of epistemological solutions, the purpose of the study, population/respondents, and methods of data collection and analysis were identified. The articles reviewed focus on the essence and distinctive characteristics of hope. Although rich in detail and quite vivid, there is a certain lack of precision about the descriptions. Hope may be described as an emotion, an experience or need. A distinction is made between generalized and particularized hope. There is a clear emphasis on the necessity and the dynamism of hope. As far as its dynamics are concerned, the most important dimension is the dialectic between hope and despair. An affective, functional, contextual and temporal as well as relational dimension are distinguished in the process of hope. Research on hope consists in the main part of descriptive cross-sectional research that focuses on individuals who are unwell. The most common method of data collection is the questionnaire, while the analyses are typically based on quantitative methods. There is need for further work to clarify the concept of hope. In the field of nursing research, there is obvious need to carry out more qualitative longitudinal research. More attention should be paid to healthy individuals and families at different stages of their life cycle.