BI BLI OMETRI C STUDY ON NURSI NG THESES AND DI SSERTATI ONS EMPLOYI NG A
PHENOMENOLOGI CAL APPROACH: TENDENCY AND PERSPECTI VES
Mir iam Ap. Bar bosa Mer ighi1 Roselan e Gon çalv es2 Fer nanda Cr ist ina Fer r eir a3
Mer igh i MAB, Gon çalv es R, Fer r eir a FC. Bibliom et r ic st u dy on n u r sin g t h eses an d disser t at ion s em ploy in g a
p h en om en olog ical ap p r oach : t en d en cy an d p er sp ect iv es. Rev Lat in o- am En f er m ag em 2 0 0 7 j u lh o- ag ost o;
1 5 ( 4 ) : 6 4 5 - 5 0 .
Th is st u d y aim ed t o an aly ze t h e scien t if ic p r od u ct ion of n u r sin g d isser t at ion s an d t h eses w it h a phenom enological approach published from 1981 t o 2002. A descript ive, ret rospect ive and bibliom et ric research w as carried out . The m at erial analysis, w hich is part of t he dat abase of t he cat alogue “ I nform at ion on Nursing Resear ch an d Resear ch er s” , r esu lt ed in 2 1 7 st u dies, 7 1 , 9 % f r om t h e m ast er ’s cou r se an d 2 8 , 1 % f r om t h e doct or al cour se. Am ong t he obt ained r esult s, it st ands out t hat t he t heor et ical- philosophical r efer ence chosen t o su ppor t t h e dat a discu ssion f ou n d in in v est igat ion s h as n ot been u sed em ph at ically . Th er e is a n eed t o discuss t he unveiled dat a, t hrough t he subj ect s’ discourse, in t he light of t he philosophical reference fram ework m ent ioned in t he r esear ch t r aj ect or y .
DESCRI PTORS: n u r sin g; ph en om en ology ; bibliom et r y
ESTUDI O BI BLI OMÉTRI CO SOBRE DI SERTACI ONES Y TESI S EN ENFERMERÍ A CON
APROXI MACI ÓN FENOMENOLÓGI CA: TENDENCI A Y PERSPECTI VAS
Est e t rabaj o t uvo com o obj et ivo analizar la producción cient ífica sobre disert aciones y t esis de enferm ería con ap r ox im ación f en om en ológ ica p u b licad as d e 1 9 8 1 a 2 0 0 2 . Fu e u n a in v est ig ación d el t ip o d escr ip t iv o, ret rospect ivo y bibliom ét rico. El análisis del m at erial pert enecient e a la base de dat os del cat álogo “ I nform aciones sobr e I n v est igacion es y I n v est igador es en En f er m er ía” r esu lt ó en 2 1 7 est u dios: el 7 1 , 9 % de m aest r ía y el 28, 1% del doct or ado. Ent r e los r esult ados alcanzados, se dest aca que el r efer encial t eór ico- filosófico elegido par a sopor t ar el an álisis de dat os en con t r ados en las in v est igacion es n o h a sido u t ilizados con én f asis. Se dest aca la necesidad de discut ir los dat os encont rados a t ravés del discurso de los suj et os, a la luz del referencial t eór ico- filosófico m encionado en la t r ay ect or ia de inv est igación.
DESCRI PTORES: en f er m er ía; f en om elogía; bibliom et r ía
ESTUDO BI BLI OMÉTRI CO SOBRE DI SSERTAÇÕES E TESES EM ENFERMAGEM COM
ABORDAGEM FENOMENOLÓGI CA: TENDÊNCI A E PERSPECTI VAS
Est e est udo t eve por obj et ivo analisar a produção cient ífica sobre dissert ações e t eses de enferm agem com abordagem fenom enológica, publicadas de 1981 a 2002. Trat a- se de pesquisa do t ipo descrit iva, ret rospect iva e bibliom ét rica. A análise do m at erial, que const a na base de dados do cat álogo “ I nform ações sobre Pesquisas e Pesquisador es em Enfer m agem ” , r esult ou em 217 est udos: 71,9% do cur so de m est r ado e 28,1% do cur so de dout orado. Dent re os result ados obt idos dest aca- se que o referencial t eórico- filosófico escolhido para subsidiar a discussão dos dados encont rados nas invest igações não t em sido ut ilizado com ênfase. Apont a- se a necessidade de discut ir os dados desv elados, por m eio dos discur sos dos suj eit os, à luz do r efer encial t eór ico- filosófico, m encionado na t r aj et ór ia da pesquisa.
DESCRI TORES: en f er m agem ; f en om en ologia; bibliom et r ia
1
Professor, Free Lect urer, School of Nursing, e- m ail: m [email protected]; 2 Phd, Professor, School of Art s, Sciences and Hum anit ies, e- m ail: [email protected]. Universit y of São Paulo, Brazil; 3 RN, MSc in Nursing, e- m ail: fernandausp@t erra.com .br
I NTRODUCTI ON
I
n t h e 1 9 7 0 s, a n e w r e se a r ch a p p r o a ch appeared in Brazil wit h charact erist ics t hat differ fromt he previous st udies. I t involves st udies t hat use t he qualit at ive m et hod which, due t o it s holist ic descript ive
m ean in g - b ased n at u r e, em p h asizes t h e im p or t an ce
of know ing, under st anding, and int er pr et ing m eaning
and event s, w it hout consider ing t he t im e t hey occur, p a s t o r p r e s e n t . I t s u s e f a v o r s d e e p e n i n g t h e
m eanings of individuals’ beliefs and values, since it is
l i m i t e d t o m e a n i n g s o f h u m a n a c t i o n s a n d r elat ion sh ip s.
Based on t he presupposit ion t hat social realit y
i s n o t t h o r o u g h l y e x p l a i n e d b y q u a n t i t a t i v e i n f o r m a t i o n , q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h r e p r e s e n t s a n
indispensable st r at egy t o per for m nur sing st udies( 1).
Ph e n o m e n o l o g y i s a m o n g t h e m a n y
appr oaches used in qualit at iv e r esear ch.
Th e ph en om en ological m ov em en t appear ed
as a react ion t o posit ivism , which st at es t hat in order t o b e v a l i d , p h e n o m e n a m u s t b e e m p i r i c a l l y
m easur ed and st u died. Phen om en ology, in con t rast , a i m s a t d i r e c t i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d t o d e l i n e a t e
conscience- ex per ienced phenom ena, w it hout t heor ies co n ce r n i n g ca u sa l e x p l a n a t i o n s a n d , a s m u ch a s
possible, fr ee of pr ej udice( 2).
Th e ph en om en ological m et h od h as r ecen t ly been acknow ledged in qualit at ive r esear ch, m ainly in
n u r s i n g . S e v e r a l s t u d i e s e m p h a s i z e t h a t t h e ph en om en ological f r am ew or k seek s t h e m ean in g of
o n e ’ s e x p e r i e n c e . Mo r e o v e r, i t c o n t r i b u t e s t o underst and m en, healt h care subj ect s, and t hus m eet s
nur sing pur poses( 3- 5).
Nursing pract it ioners should t ake not ice t o t he
m ean in g of ex per ien ces, t h e m essage t h at pat ien t s
t r an sm it , w h ich w ou ld allow n u r ses t o of f er m or e effect iv e healt hcar e, cent er ed on pat ient s’ needs( 6).
A lit er at u r e su r v ey ab ou t n u r sin g r esear ch si m i l ar t o p h en om en ol og y sh ow ed t h at t h e 1 9 8 0 s
m a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f p h e n o m e n o l o g y - b a s e d nursing research. I n t he 1990s, t here w as a grow ing
int erest on using phenom enological- approach m et hods in research perform ed by nurses. This applied science
has sought t o underst and t he m eaning of experiences
associat ed wit h t he healt h- disease process, in several ph ases of on e’s lif e cy cle, in en v ir on m en t s r an gin g
fr om hospit al, out pat ient clinic and com m unit y car e, t o hom e car e( 7).
Fr om t h is p er sp ect iv e, t h e “ f or m of h ealt h
car e” in nur sing can be seen one w ay by car egiv er s
an d h ealt h car e pr of ession als, an d an ot h er w ay by
t hose r eceiv ing healt h car e, client s/ pat ient s/ user s.
STUDY CONCERNS AND OBJECTI VES
The pract ical variant of t he phenom enological
m et h o d a p p l i ed t o h u m a n r esea r ch d ev el o p ed b y
A m a d e o Gi o r g i i s m u c h u s e d . Th e p r o c e d u r e s
pr oposed by Gior gi w er e dissem inat ed in Br azil by a
group of psychologist s, including Joel Mart ins, aim t o
a p p r o a c h t h e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n /
i n t er p r et at i o n o f d at a co l l ect ed b y f i el d r esear ch ,
in t er v iew s, st at em en t s, et c. I t seek s t o d et ect t h e
m eaning unit s of a significant groups; cat egorize t hem
accor ding t o t he t heor et ical- philosophical fr am ew or k*
g u i d i n g t h e s t u d y ; r e v i e w t h e m u s i n g a
p h en o m en o l o g i ca l a n a l y si s a n d d escr i b e t h em b y
r ecallin g t h e in t en t ion al ex per ien ces an d im agin ar y
variat ions, aft er an eidet ic reduct ion, t hat is, anyt hing
ir r elev ant r egar ding t he phenom enon w as elim inat ed
in or der t o r each essence.
Th e p h e n o m e n o l o g i ca l m e t h o d h a s b e e n
br oadly u sed in gr adu at e- cou r ses disser t at ion s an d
t heses. How ev er, r esu lt s h av e n ot been sat isfact or y
because em phasis is on dat a analysis procedures and
n ot on u n der st an din g. Th er e ar e m an y r eason s f or
t his form of perform ing dat a analysis and discussion( 8).
The excessive am ount of m eaning unit s t hat
appear in an int er v iew m ak e it difficult t o per for m a
t h o r o u g h a n a l y s i s . To d o t h a t , c o n s i d e r i n g t h e
t h eor et ical- ph ilosoph ical fr am ew or k in u se, it w ou ld
r eq u ir e, af t er m an y r ead in g s of t h e in t er v iew s, t o
previously lim it t he t hem e, using t he st at ed m eaning
unit s as a background; cat egorizat ion im plies reducing
t h e obj ect an d n ot a sim ple n at u r al cat egor izat ion .
Sin ce t h e begin n in g, t h e ph en om en ological m et h od
sh ou ld be u sed t o obt ain a pr ev iou s cat egor izat ion
t h at w ou ld p er m it t o m ak e a p h en om en olog ically
-or ien t ed select ion of t h e st at em en t s’ m ost r elev an t
m ean i n g u n i t s; l i m i t i n g an d cat eg or i zi n g m ean i n g
u n i t s, as w el l as sel ect i n g t h o se co n si d er ed m o st
i m p o r t a n t t o cl a r i f y t h e p h e n o m e n o n r e q u i r e s a
com prehension of int ent ional and descript ive analyses,
w h ich t h e pr oposed pr ocedu r e appar en t ly does n ot
t ak e in t o con sid er at ion ; lim it ed t im e m ak es m an y
st u den t s see ph en om en ology as a pr act ical sh or t er
pat hway t hat offers a series of st eps t o be followed( 8).
I t i s w o r t h em p h asi zi n g t h at t h i s m et h o d
sh ou ld b e r ef in ed f r om a d eep er u n d er st an d in g of
t he m et hod( 8). Ot herwise, it t ends t o rapidly wear out
a n d p r o m o t e i r r e p a r a b l e d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n a m o n g
p h en om en olog y r esear ch er s( 8 ). Th e af or em en t ion ed
au t h or st at es t h at it is essen t ial t o r et u r n t o u sin g
sou r ces, p h ilosop h ical an d p h en om en olog ical t ex t s,
m ain ly Hu sser l an d som e of h is follow er s, in clu din g
Heidegger, Mer leau- Pont y, and Paul Ricouer.
I t is not iced t hat a gr eat par t of t he st udies
w it h a ph en om en ological appr oach poin t , r egar din g
t he m et hod, t o t he use of a t heor et ical- philosophical
f r a m e w o r k a s t h e g u i d e l i n e f o r d a t a d i scu ssi o n .
However, t he analysis shows t hat ot her aut hors, rat her
t h an t h e on e p oin t ed in t h e st u d y m et h od as t h e
philosophical fram ework, are used for t his procedure.
I n addit ion, m any phenom enological st udies
st at e as t heir fr am ew or k aut hor s w ho pr ov ide st eps
for analysis, rat her t han t hose who would support t he
r e su l t s f o u n d i n t h e st u d y, t h a t i s, t h e o r e t i ca l
-ph iloso-ph ical fou n dat ion .
There are concerns involving nursing knowledge
product ion em ploying t he phenom enological approach.
Hence, the present study was m otivated by the interest
in k now ing how st ict o- sensu gr aduat e st udies using
p h en o m en o l o g y as t h e t h eo r et i cal - p h i l o so p h i cal
fr am ew or k ar e per for m ed. Did t he per for m ed st udies
use the theoretical-philosophical fram ework to guide data
discussion, or was phenom enology used only to explain
t h e m et h od ? Wh at is t h e t h eor et ical- p h ilosop h ical
fr am ew or k m ost com m only used in t hese st udies t o
support dat a analysis?
Fr om t h ese con sid er at ion s, a b ib liog r ap h ic
st u dy w as pr oposed abou t disser t at ion s an d t h eses
w it h p h en om en olog ical m ot iv at ion , w it h a v iew t o
cont ribut e t o t he const ruct ion of a body of knowledge
t hat w ould suppor t nur sing healt h car e pr act ice fr om
t he perspect ive of t he involved subj ect s; t o provide a
v iew of w h at is b ein g st u d ied in n u r sin g g r ad u at e
c o u r s e s r e g a r d i n g p h e n o m e n o l o g y, a n d v e r i f y
possible ex ist ing gaps in t he st udies em ploy ing t his
approach. I n t his sense, t he obj ect ives of t he present
st udy ar e:
- To lear n t he num ber of st udies per for m ed and t he
locat ion w her e t hey w er e pr esent ed.
- To obt ain t h e f ocu sed ar eas ( edu cat ion or h ealt h
car e) and t he st udies’ k now ledge ar eas.
To v e r i f y i f t h e s t u d i e s h a v e a t h e o r e t i c a l
-ph iloso-ph ical f r am ew or k , an d, if so, t o iden t if y t h e
ph en om en ological m ot iv at ion .
METHOD
I t i s a b i b l i o m e t r i c , d e s c r i p t i v e a n d
r et r ospect iv e st u dy per f or m ed by lit er at u r e r ev iew .
Th e a n a l y s i s m a t e r i a l w a s l i m i t e d t o m a s t e r ’ s
d isser t at ion s an d d oct or at e t h eses in clu d ed in t h e
dat abase of t he Cat alogue “ I nform at ion about Nursing
Resear ch and Resear cher s”, at t he Br azilian Nur sing
Associat ion’s Nur sing Resear ch St udy Cent er (
CEPEn-ABEn) . I t is wort h em phasizing t hat t his St udy Cent er
i s t h e b a s e f o r p r i n t e d d a t a r e g a r d i n g n u r s i n g
disser t at ion s an d t h eses pr odu ced in Br azil an d ar e
w r it t en in Por t uguese.
Regar din g t h e t ech n iqu e, lit er at u r e r ev iew s
com p r ise r ead in g , select in g , cat eg or izin g an d f ilin g
t he t opics of int erest for t he research, wit h t he aim of
l ea r n i n g w h i ch sci en t i f i c co n t r i b u t i o n s h a v e b een
pr oduced for t hat subj ect( 9).
N o n - sy st e m a t i c r e v i e w s a r e “ w o r k f o r a
d et ect iv e”, in w h ich ar t icles ar e select ed b y u sin g
k ey w or ds, aut hor nam es, and t hen r eading t it les( 10).
The inclusion crit eria for t he dissert at ions and t heses
is t hat t hey should be available in t he CEPEn - ABEn
d at ab ase in t h e last t w o d ecad es ( 1 9 8 0 t o 2 0 0 2 ) ,
con sid er in g t h at , as m en t ion ed b ef or e, t h e 1 9 8 0 s
m a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f p h e n o m e n o l o g y - b a s e d
nur sing r esear ch pr oduct ion in Br azil.
Th e s e a r c h f o r d i s s e r t a t i o n a n d t h e s i s
a b s t r a c t s w a s p e r f o r m e d u s i n g p r i n t e d s o u r c e s
av ailab le at t h e Un iv er sit y of Sao Pau lo Sch ool of
Nu r sin g.
Th e f i r st st ep t o i d en t i f y t h e st u d i es w as
ch oosin g t h e k ey w or ds: ph en om en ology , qu alit at iv e
r esear ch , com pr eh en siv e appr oach / st u dy. Th e n ex t ,
an d m ost accu r at e, st ep t o ch oose st u dies w as t h e
an aly t ical r ead in g of all ab st r act s w it h t h e aim t o
i d e n t i f y t h e t h e m a t i c a r e a a n d t h e t h e o r e t i c a l
-m et h od olog ical f r a-m ew or k .
Aft er com plet ing t he select ion, t he full art icle
was searched for reading and dat a analysis( 11). At t his
m o m e n t , i t w a s a n a l y z e d i f t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a l
fram ework, st at ed in t he m et hod sect ion of t he st udy,
w as used for dat a analy sis.
Th e t h e s e s a n d d i s s e r t a t i o n s p r e v i o u s l y
provided t hey were available at t he Universit y of Sao
Paulo School of Nur sing librar y.
Dat a were collect ed bet ween August 2003 and
Januar y 2004, using a scr ipt cont aining t he follow ing
it em s: place an d y ear of pu blic def en se, f ocu s an d
k n o w l e d g e a r e a , a n d q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g t h e
m e t h o d o l o g i c a l a n d t h e o r e t i c a l - p h i l o s o p h i c a l
f r am ew o r k s.
Aft er ident ifying t he dissert at ions and t heses
av ailab le at t h e Un iv er sit y of Sao Pau lo Sch ool of
Nursing library, t he st udies w ere read, analyzed, and
cat egor ized accor ding t o t he it em s in t he scr ipt .
Th e m a t e r i a l w a s a n a l y ze d b a se d o n t h e
art iculat ion of t he quant i- and qualit at ive approaches,
s i n c e t h e s e t w o d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e s a r e
com plem en t ar y in t h e sear ch for a bet t er appr oach
t o t he invest igat ed r ealit y( 12).
I n quant it at ive t erm s, t he follow ing variables
w er e inv est igat ed: disser t at ion/ t hesis; y ear of public
d e f e n se ; l o ca t i o n , a n d p h i l o so p h i ca l f r a m e w o r k .
Variables were st ored using MS Access, analyzed using
MS Excel and lat er using Epi I nfo 6.04, by frequencies
an d cr ossin gs.
I n qualit at ive t erm s, it was sought t o analyze
t h e r e su l t s a n d su b j e ct d i scu ssi o n r e g a r d i n g t h e
t h e o r e t i ca l - p h i l o so p h i ca l f r a m e w o r k , t h r o u g h t h e
f ollow in g qu est ion : Did t h e t h eor et ical- ph ilosoph ical
fr am ew or k su ppor t dat a an aly sis?
Hence, t he qualit at iv e dat a fr om answ er s t o
t h e a b o v e q u e s t i o n w e r e a n a l y z e d t h r o u g h t h e
f o l l o w i n g st e p s: i d e n t i f i ca t i o n o f t h e t h e o r e t i ca l
-philosophical fr am ew or k in t he m et hod; r eading dat a
a n a l y si s t o i d e n t i f y t h e t h e o r e t i ca l - p h i l o so p h i ca l
fr am ew or k st at ed in t he m et hod.
D e scr i p t i v e a n a l y si s w a s u se d f o r r e su l t s
present at ion wit h t he aim t o provide bet t er clarificat ion
r egar ding t he obt ained dat a.
RESULTS AND DI SCUSSI ON
From 1980 t o 2002, t here were 217 published
st u dies u sin g t h e ph en om en ology m et h od, of w h ich
1 5 6 ( 7 1 . 9 % ) r efer t o m ast er ’s disser t at ion s and 6 1
( 28.1% ) t o doct or at e t heses.
Th e p u b l i c d e f e n se s o f d i sse r t a t i o n s a n d
t h eses p r o d u ced em p l o y i n g t h e p h en o m en o l o g i cal
appr oach w er e per for m ed in t he gr aduat e pr ogr am s
of t he follow ing inst it ut ions: Univ er sit y of Sao Paulo
School of Nursing, Federal Universit y of Rio de Janeiro,
Univ er sit y of Sao Paulo at Ribeir ao Pr et o College of
Nursing, Federal Universit y of Minas Gerais, Universit y
of Rio de Janeiro, Federal Universit y of Sant a Cat arina,
Fed er al Un i v er si t y of Cear a, Fed er al Un i v er si t y of
Ba h i a , Fe d e r a l Un i v e r si t y o f Sa o Pa u l o , Fe d e r a l
Universit y of Rio Grande do Sul, Federal Universit y of
Par a, Un iv er sit y of Sao Pau lo College of Edu cat ion ,
Feder al Univ er sit y of Par ana, and St at e Univ er sit y of
Rio de Janeir o.
Th e t h r ee in st it u t ion s t h at m ost p r od u ced
phenom enological st udies w er e t he Univ er sit y of Sao
Paulo School of Nursing ( 23% ) , t he Federal Universit y
of Rio de Janeiro ( 17.1% ) , and t he Universit y of Sao
Paulo at Ribeir ao Pr et o College of Nur sing ( 15.2% ) .
Th e g r ad u at e p r og r am at t h e Un iv er sit y of
Sao Paulo School of Nursing present ed in t he referred
p e r i o d 2 7 ( 1 7 . 3 % ) m a st e r s d i sse r t a t i o n s a n d 2 3
( 37. 7% ) doct or at e t heses. The gr aduat e pr ogr am at
Feder al Univ er sit y of Rio de Janeir o cam e nex t , w it h
2 4 ( 1 5 . 4 % ) m ast er s d isser t at ion s an d 1 3 ( 2 1 . 3 % )
doct or at e t heses, follow ed by t he gr aduat e pr ogr am
at t he Universit y of Sao Paulo at Ribeirao Pret o College
of Nursing, wit h 24 ( 15.4% ) m ast ers dissert at ions and
9 ( 1 4 . 7 % ) doct or at e t h eses. Th e Feder al Un iv er sit y
o f Mi n a s Ge r a i s p r o d u c e d e x c l u s i v e l y m a s t e r s
dissert at ions, but at a considerable am ount - 25 ( 25% ) .
I n t he 1980s, fiv e phenom enological st udies
w er e pr esen t ed. As of t h e 1 9 9 0 s, st u dies w it h t h is
f o c u s b e g a n t o b e d e v e l o p e d i n n u r s i n g , v e r y
m odest ly, bu t in cr easin g con sider ably ov er t h e last
y ear s. Th is in f or m at ion is in lin e w it h t h e pr ev iou s
lit erat ure survey, m ent ioned in t he int roduct ion, which
sh ow ed t h at in t h e 1 9 9 0 s t h er e w as an in t er est in g
i n c r e a s e i n n u r s e - c o n d u c t e d s t u d i e s e m p l o y i n g
p h en om en olog y( 7 ).
A s t u d y o n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f n u r s i n g
g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s i n Br a zi l f r o m 1 9 7 2 t o 1 9 9 4
r ep or t ed t h at t h er e w as a r em ar k ab le in cr ease of
gr aduat e cour ses in t he 1990s( 13). The aut hor s st at e
t hat t he boost w as due t o t he r efor m of t he Law of
Edu cat ion Gu idelin es an d Fou n dat ion s, appr ov ed in
1997, which det erm ined t hat one- t hird of t he facult y in
s u p e r i o r l e v e l s c h o o l s m u s t h a v e a m a s t e r s o r
doct orat e degree. This generat ed t he opening of m any
g radu at e cou r ses an d, con sequ en t ly, an in cr ease in
t he dem and for course- candidat es, which explains t he
expressive increase in t he num ber of dissert at ions and
t heses em ploying phenom enology as of t he m id- 1990s.
Consider ing t he 217 analy zed abst r act s, 189
only 23 ( 11% ) w ere focused on educat ion, and m ost
( 71. 9% ) r efer r ed t o m ast er s disser t at ions.
There were m ore st udies associat ed wit h adult
h ealt h , w om en ’s h ealt h , an d ch ild h ealt h . On ly t w o
st udies ( 0. 9% ) on collect iv e healt h w er e dev eloped.
I t is obser v ed t hat building nur sing body of
k n o w l e d g e a n d a s s o c i a t e d t h e m e s r e f l e c t t h e
d i f f e r e n c e s a n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s o f i t s h i s t o r i c a l
pr ocess( 1 4 ). I n t h is sen se, it is obser v ed t h at t h er e
has been an increase t o t he underst anding of t he obj ect
of nursing pract ice, com prising illness and hum ans in
t h e h ealt h - d isease p r ocess; t h e m an y h ealt h car e
levels, from prim ary t o t ert iary; healt h prom ot ion and
disease cure and prevent ion; nursing and healt h care
w or k or gan izat ion ; in t egr al h ealt h car e, f ocu sed on
issues concer ning healt h, disease, and hum an beings
as social and hist or ical pr ocesses( 15).
A st udy about nur sing k now ledge pr oduct ion
in Brazil, in t he 1990s, report ed t hat t here is significant
prevalence of product ion in t he healt h care are, m ainly
dir ect ed t o h ealt h car e issu es, f ollow ed by w om en
-an d ch ild - r elat ed issu es. Th e or g -an izat ion al ar ea
a p p e a r s i s r a n k e d s e c o n d , f o l l o w e d b y t h e
pr ofessional ar ea( 1 4 ).
I t is st at ed t h at t h is dif f er en ce is pr obably
associat ed wit h t he focus in graduat e program s, which
m aint ain a st rong connect ion wit h t he biom edical m odel
( o b s t e t r i c s , p e d i a t r i c s , p s y c h i a t r y ) . Re g a r d i n g
e d u c a t i o n a l t h e m e s , t h e r e a r e l a c k s i n n u r s i n g
k n ow led g e, w h ich con f ir m s a g en er al t en d en cy f or
r educt ion in st udies in t he educat ional ar ea ov er t he
last decade in t he count ry( 14).
Most of t he analy zed abst r act s ( 89. 9% ) did
not present a m et hodological fram ew ork for analysis.
Only 22 ( 10.1% ) st at ed t his inform at ion, and t he m ost
referenced aut hors were Mart ins and Bicudo ( 54.5% ) ,
follow ed by Gior gi ( 18.2% ) .
Re g a r d i n g t h e t h e o r e t i c a l - p h i l o s o p h i c a l
fram ework used in t he st udies, st at ed in t he abst ract s,
53% were specified and 47% did not use it . The m ost
referenced aut hors were Heidegger ( 50.4% ) , followed
by Alfred Schult z ( 21.7% ) , and Merleau- Pont y ( 20% ) .
Of t he 7 5 st udies analy zed in full, w it h t he
aim t o id en t if y, in t h e m et h od , t h e in d icat ion of a
philosophical fram ework, 55% indicat ed t heir use, and
t he m ost cit ed philosopher s w er e Heidegger ( 43.9% )
and Mer leau- Pont y ( 24. 4% ) .
I t is con clu ded t h at disser t at ion an d t h esis
a b s t r a c t s h a v e n o t b e e n g i v e n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e
im por t ance, consider ing t hat st udy abst r act s should
i n cl u d e a b r i ef st a t em en t o f t h e p u r p o se a n d i t s
r elev ance, t he m et hod used, t he obt ained r esult s, a
s t a t e m e n t r e g a r d i n g t h e m a i n c o n c l u s i o n s a n d
addit ional infor m at ion about t he cr edibilit y of r esult s
or t he ar t icle’s or ganizat ion( 16).
FI NAL CONSI DERATI ONS
The pr esent st udied offer ed a v iew of w hat
has been st udied in nursing graduat e courses in Brazil,
r egar din g t h e ph en om en ological appr oach .
I t i s t h e c o m m i t m e n t o f h e a l t h c a r e
pr of ession als t o con solidat e t h e body of k n ow ledge
in nur sing, dev eloping st udies t hat w ould cont r ibut e
sim ult aneously w it h it s incr ease and consolidat ion in
t h e r ef er r ed pr of ession .
The present st udy also aim ed t o inform nurses
about phenom enology. This m et hod is in line wit h t he
nursing proposals in t erm s of proving healt h care form
pat ien t s’ per spect iv e.
Th is st u d y can h elp in t er est ed r esear ch er s
t o dev elop/ deepen phenom enology - based st udies. I n
addit ion , it su ppor t s t h e n u r sin g k n ow ledge ar ea in
t erm s of im proving group discussions about research,
in qualit at ive graduat e classes and in scient ific event s
associat ed t o r esear ch .
Result s show t hat in t he m id- 1990s t here was
a m arking increase in phenom enological dissert at ions
and t hesis, m ainly in nursing graduat e courses at t he
Un iv er sit y of Sao Pau lo, as w ell as at t h e Fed er al
Universit y of Rio de Janeiro and t he Universit y of Sao
Pa u l o - Ri b e i r a o Pr e t o . Th e r e w a s a s i g n i f i c a n t
prevalence of scient ific product ions in t he healt h care
ar ea, w it h t h em es associat ed w it h adu lt , w om en ’s,
and child healt h.
Most of t he analyzed abst ract do not present
a m et h odological f r am ew or k f or an aly sis. Mor eov er,
4 5 % of t h e st u d ies an aly zed in f u ll d o n ot h av e a
t h e o r e t i c a l - p h i l o s o p h i c a l f r a m e w o r k . Th u s , i t i s
concluded t hat st udies em ploying t his m et hodological
appr oach r em ain am bigu ou s.
To p er f o r m p h en o m en o l o g i ca l st u d i es,
researchers should study the texts by philosophers and
ph en om en ologist s, con sider in g t h eir pr esu pposit ion s
throughout the developm ent of the research. Researchers
should j ust ify, for reader clarificat ion, t he reasons for
choosing qualitative research, phenom enology, and also
w h y t h e ch osen t h eor et ical- ph ilosoph ical f r am ew or k
I t is w or t h em ph asizin g t h at m ean in g u n it s
should be ext ract ed from subj ect s’ st at em ent s, based
o n t h e m e n t i o n e d t h e o r e t i c a l - p h i l o s o p h i c a l
f r am ew or k , an d t h e d at a sh ou ld also b e d iscu ssed
fr om t h is fr am ew or k ’s per spect iv e.
The pert inence of phenom enological research
in n u r sin g is h ig h lig h t ed , sin ce h ealt h , illn ess, an d
h ealt h car e, in t h e m ost d if f er en t asp ect s, can b e
r e t h o u g h t f r o m t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f e x i s t e n t i a l
p h e n o m e n o l o g y a n d b e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l l y
u n d e r s t o o d f r o m t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f p e o p l e
ex per ien cin g t h ese ph en om en a.
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