Strategies for assessing and fostering hope: the hope assessment guide

Abstract

Purpose/objectives: To detail behavioral manifestations of hope and to present the Hope Assessment Guide with stage-specific nursing strategies to foster the development of hope.

Data sources: Previous research and a concept analysis of hope, including interviews with survivors of breast cancer, people awaiting heart transplants, breast-feeding mothers returning to work, and patients with spinal cord injuries. Criteria for inclusion included empirical validity of the conceptual framework, power of the autobiographic data to illustrate theoretical fit, and usefulness of the theory in assessing hope and devising clinical strategies.

Data synthesis: Behavioral manifestations within reported breast cancer experiences demonstrated theoretical fit. From this, the researchers extracted assessment factors and identified clinical strategies based on reported experiences and strategies found helpful at various stages of the hope development process.

Conclusions: The conceptual model provides structure for assessing and responding to developing hopefulness in a stage-specific manner.

Implications for nursing practice: By becoming aware of the processes of developing hope, nurses are better prepared to clinically assess this dynamic process and to devise highly individualized clinical interventions in cases in which hope needs to be supported or modified.