A nursing manifesto: an emancipatory call for knowledge development, conscience, and praxis

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical and philosophical assumptions of the Nursing Manifesto, written by three activist scholars whose objective was to promote emancipatory nursing research, practice, and education within the dialogue and praxis of social justice. Inspired by discussions with a number of nurse philosophers at the 2008 Knowledge Conference in Boston, two of the original Manifesto authors and two colleagues discussed the need to explicate emancipatory knowing as it emerged from the Manifesto. Our analysis yielded an epistemological framework based on liberation principles to advance praxis in the discipline of nursing. This paper adds to what is already known on this topic, as there is not an explicit contribution to the literature of this specific Manifesto, its significance, and utility for the discipline. While each of us have written on emancipatory knowing and social justice in a variety of works, it is in this article that we identify, as a unit of knowledge production and as a direction towards praxis, a set of critical values that arose from the emancipatory conscience-ness and intention seen in the framework of the Nursing Manifesto.

Elementos do paradigma sociocrítico nas práticas do cuidado de enfermagem: revisão integrativa

“…Nursing, which has a brief period of time as a discipline, is closely linked to what it does, lacking a questioning spirit and a paradigmatic definition (1) . Researchers (2)(3)(4)(5)(6) defend the importance of considering nursing as a science. For this reason, it is crucial that it becomes organized around a paradigm, thus becoming a guide for researchers to observe and analyze its object of study.…”

“…At this point lies the difficulty of nursing in being recognized as a science due to its incipient epistemological development, which is necessary for the delimitation of its object (7) . European (3) and North American (2,(5)(6)8) studies indicate that the technological-rational/particular-deterministic paradigm is predominant in the knowledge and in the performance of nursing in these contexts. In Brazil, we have a recent path in our construction of nursing knowledge with the creation of the first PhD program in nursing in 1982 from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP).…”

Understanding social determinants of healthcare access from the perspective of Hispanic Latino immigrants in Louisville, Ky.

“…Critical perspectives such as postcolonial theory and critical ethnography provided a basis for understanding healthcare access disparities and inequities within a critical paradigm of social injustice. With the ethical responsibility of advocating for their patients wellbeing, nurses are in a unique position to promote the ideals of social justice by promoting changes in the societal structures that underline the social determinants of healthcare access inequities for HLI (Kagan, Smith, Cowling & Chinn, 2009). As a centrally established work focused on activism and social justice in nursing discourse, the Nursing Manifesto promotes the emancipatory perspectives of nursing research, practice and education (Cowling, Chinn & Hagedorn, 2000).…”

“…Critical ethnography and postcolonial theoretical perspectives are also supported by this fundamental paradigm of nursing, and should be incorporated in educational programs to promote understanding of inequities in healthcare access for HLI (Cowling et al, 2000). Educating nurses using holistic health perspectives enhances understanding of the social determinants of health and healthcare access, illuminating issues of social injustice and inequities among HLI and other underserved groups (Kagan et al, 2009;Pauly, MacKinnon, Varcoe, 2009). As indicated in study findings, health is not merely a product of illness or disease, but is related to the social determinants of healthcare access shaped within historical, sociocultural, political and economic contexts.…”

“…We must speak. (Cowling et al, 2000) Promoting the emancipatory role of nursing practice is dependent upon the adoption of a praxisoriented philosophy that challenges the status quo, illuminates inequities in the distribution of power and resources such as healthcare, and functions as a foundation for building a just society through social change Cowling et al, 2000;Creswell, 2007;Kagan et al, 2009;Kirkham & Anderson, 2002).…”