This paper seeks to clarify four previously elusive concepts of concern to nurses: spiritual perspective, hope, acceptance and self-transcendence. Simultaneous concept analysis (SCA), a method developed by the authors, was used to generate a process model of antecedents, critical attributes and outcomes of all four concepts. This resulted in refined theoretical definitions for each concept. Interrelationships that became apparent among the concepts are discussed and implications of these interrelationships for theory and measurement are presented.

The challenge of tapping into the rich resource of population-based, aggregated data to inform and guide clinical processes remains one of the largely unrealized potentials of managed care. This article describes a multifaceted approach of using health-related data to support providers in clinical decision making as an adjunct to case management and primary care delivery. The goal is to provide data that can be used for clinical decision making that is population based, yet individualized for specific patient care situations. Information reporting holds great potential in the clinical care of patients because it can be used to identify persons who could benefit from early detection, intervention, or treatment. It has been suggested that one of the keys to success in managed Medicare is the timely use of information that is detailed, comprehensive, and real-time describing key parameters of clinical encounters.