‘Difference’ and nursing research

Abstract

In recent decades groups of non-mainstream people have named their/our strengths and used the concept of ‘difference’ to support this position. The pitfalls of radical individualism and of group essentialism which are likely to ensue from this focus on difference are problematic in nursing research. This paper argues that class, ethnicity and gender structure societies in which research takes place; and that common understandings of difference may unwittingly perpetuate and obscure power inequalities. Nursing researchers need to be conscious of these inequalities and ensure that research is oriented towards constructive change for the benefit of health service consumers.

Key words:

• Difference—Ethnicity
• Gender
• Nursing research
• Politics in research
• Social justice in health

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jan Horsfall

Jan Horsfall has been a mental health nurse since 1965. She has written on a diversity of topics, including her 1991 book ‘The Presence of the past: male violence in the family’.