untitled

PART TWO:

Applications

of King’s

Theory of Goal

Attainment

Christina Leibold Sieloff, Maureen

Frey, & Mary Killeen

Application of Interacting Systems

Framework

Concept Development Within the

Framework

Theory of Goal Attainment

Recommendations for Knowledge

Development Related to King’s

Framework and Theory

Summary

References

Since the first publication of Dr. Imogene King’s
work (1971), nursing’s interest in the application of
her work to practice has grown. The fact that she
was one of the few theorists who generated both a
framework and a midrange theory further ex-
panded her work. Today, new publications related
to Dr. King’s work are a frequent occurrence.
Additional middle-range theories have been gener-
ated and tested, and applications to practice have
expanded. Since her retirement, Dr. King continues
to publish and examine new applications of her
work. The purpose of this part of the chapter is to

provide an updated review of the state of the art in

terms of the application of King’s Interacting

Systems Framework and midrange theory in a vari-

ety of areas: practice, administration, education,

and research. Publications, including Frey & Sieloff

(1995), identified from a review of the literature,

will be summarized and briefly discussed. Finally,

recommendations will be made for future knowl-

edge development in relation to King’s Interacting

Systems Framework and midrange theory, par-

ticularly in relation to the importance of their

application within an evidence-based practice

environment.

Application of Interacting

Systems Framework

In conducting the literature review, the authors

began with the broadest category of application—

application within the Interacting Systems Frame-

work to nursing care situations. Because a con-

In conducting the literature review, the

authors began with the broadest category

of application—application within the

Interacting Systems Framework to nursing

care situations.

ceptual framework is, by nature, very broad and

abstract, it can only serve to guide, rather than

prescriptively direct, nursing practice.

King’s Interacting Systems Framework has

been used to guide nursing practice in several

ways. For example, Coker et al. (1995) used the

framework to guide the implementation of nursing

diagnosis in a large community hospital. Fawcett,

Vaillancourt, and Watson (1995) used the frame-

work to guide nursing practice in a large tertiary

care hospital. In contrast, several authors used

the framework to guide nursing practice with spe-

cific patient populations. Doornbos (2002) ex-

plored family health in families with chronically

mentally ill family members. Hobdell (1995) exam-

ined the “relationship between chronic sorrow and

accuracy of perception of a child’s cognitive devel-

opment in parents of children with neural tube

defects” (p. 132). Table 16–1 delineates other appli-

cations related to King’s Interacting Systems

Framework.

244 SECTION III Nursing Theory in Nursing Practice, Education, Research, and Administration