Appreciative inquiry in a Norwegian nursing home: a unifying and maturing process to forward new knowledge and new practice

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Appreciative inquiry (AI) studies have proven to be useful in developing nursing knowledge and changing nursing practice. However, few AI studies have examined the meaning of participation over time among collaborating healthcare providers. Our aim was to explore and illuminate healthcare providers’ participation over time in a Norwegian nursing home to develop new knowledge and practice, focusing on sensory gardens.

Method: Twenty healthcare providers participated in the 3 year AI study. Data were collected in fieldwork, interviews, and interventions. Saldañas’ longitudinal analysis was applied.

Results: The collaboration between the researcher and participants created insight of a relational room, which was named “the room of closeness”. Participants’ search for new arenas to apply the meaning of the room of closeness was found when focusing on the sensory garden. Their desire for joint development created a bottom–up perspective, the hallmark of successful AI.

Conclusion: Knowledge of participants’ experiences may contribute to developing AI as a useful and transferable method, especially regarding co-creating participation, and may have implications for research and society. AI’s strength-based approach may, however, lead to the neglect of data that are associated with problems, and complicate the assessment of success. Further research is therefore needed to develop AI.

KEYWORDS:

• Appreciative action research
• sensory garden
• nursing
• participation
• knowledge development and culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Inger-Lise Magnussen

Inger-Lise Magnussen is PhD candidate in Professional Studies at Nord University, Norway.

Johanne Alteren

Johanne Alteren is Associate Professor at Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Mo i Rana, Norway.

Terese Bondas

Terese Bondas is Professor of Nursing Science at Nord University, Norway with a special interest in the contribution of qualitative approaches such as metasynthesis and action research to serve the patients and their families in health care.