Definition Of Hope Research Articles

Voices of Hope: Leveraging Think-Aloud Cognitive Interviews to Develop a Hope Assessment Tool for Young People Living with Chronic Health Conditions.

Hope is a universal, multidimensional, and nuanced concept that may have specific meaning for young people living with chronic health conditions anticipated to last into adulthood. We previously identified definitions of hope for youth living with chronic health conditions derived from young people's and their caregivers' own words. Here, we aimed to develop a hope assessment tool to facilitate the future evaluation of interventions to support wellness and health for young people growing up with chronic health conditions; Methods: We developed Likert-type scale questions using the young people's and caregivers' definitions of hope and applied the think-aloud cognitive interview method to assess understanding and to inform sequential iteration. Interviews were recorded and insights from participant interviews were analyzed thematically. In total, 11 youth (age 12-16 years) with various chronic health conditions completed surveys and interviews over three iteration cycles. Responses to the six-point Likert-scale questions ranged from 1 (none of the time) to 6 (all of the time) (median 5). All of the young people (n = 11) reported that they do things they enjoy, either all of the time or most of the time. In contrast, only 36% felt energetic, either all or most of the time. Three themes were identified: my body and hope; my identity, self-image, and hope; and my world and hope. In addition to gaining important feedback that allowed us to improve item word choice to maximize assessment tool understanding, we gained valuable insights into the multidimensional construct of hope. Thematic analysis revealed the importance of physical symptoms and identity to the meaning of hope in the context of a young person's life. Our new hope assessment tool derived from the young people's own definition of hope has face and content validity for use in clinical and research settings to evaluate hope among pediatric patients living with chronic health conditions.

Hope that Benefits Others: A Systematic Literature Review of Hope Theory and Prosocial Outcomes

This systematic literature review serves to illuminate the state of research that examines empirical evidence of hope and other-oriented variables (i.e. benefit individuals other than those who are being measured in the included studies). Thirteen articles were eligible for inclusion after the screening process and snowballing. Hope was positively related to variables such as social support seeking, altruism, community and social participation, and acting in favor of helping others. Data from the included studies revealed that individuals who score high on hope perform more behaviors that benefit others. These findings indicate that Hope Theory might provide a small glimpse into its definition of hope as a virtue that benefits others. This systematic review points to the dearth of research of hope as an individual difference that benefits others, but the potential of this line of inquiry.

Perceptions of Hope Among Bereaved Caregivers of Cancer Patients Who Received Early Palliative Care: A Content and Lexicographic Analysis.

BackgroundOncologists’ fear of taking away hope from patients when proposing early palliative care (EPC) is a barrier to the implementation of this model. This study explores hope perceptions among bereaved caregivers of onco-hematologic patients who received EPC.Materials and MethodsOpen-ended questionnaires were administered to 36 primary caregivers of patients who received EPC (26 solid and 10 hematologic cancer patients; mean age: 51.4 years, range age: 20-74), at 2 cancer centers, 2 months to 3 years after a patient death. Definitions of hope in the caregivers’ narratives were analyzed through a directed approach to content analysis. Results were complemented with automated lexicographic analysis.ResultsCaregivers perceived hope mainly as resilience and as expectations based on what they were told about the patients’ clinical conditions. Their hope was bolstered by trusting relationships with the healthcare teams. EPC interventions were recalled as the major support for hope, both during the illness and after the death of the patient. The automated quantitative lexical analysis provided deeper insights into the links between hope, truth, and trust.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that telling the truth about an incurable onco-hematologic disease and beginning EPC might be the combination of factors triggering hope in the setting of incurable cancer.

Getting to Hope: Perspectives from Patients and Caregivers Living with Chronic Childhood Illness.

Promoting hope was identified in our prior work as the top priority research question among patients and caregivers with diverse childhood-onset chronic conditions. Here, we aimed to construct a conceptual model to guide future research studies of interventions to improve hope. We conducted eight monthly virtual focus groups and one virtual workshop with patients, caregivers, and researchers to explore key constructs to inform the model. Discussions were facilitated by Patient Co-Investigators. Participants developed a definition of hope and identified promotors and inhibitors that influence the experience of hope. We utilized qualitative methods to analyze findings and organize the promotors and inhibitors of hope within three strata of the socio-ecologic framework: structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Participants identified three types of interventions to promote hope: resources, navigation, and activities to promote social connection. The hope conceptual model can be used to inform the selection of interventions to assess in future research studies aimed at improving hope and the specification of outcome measures to include in hope research studies. Inclusion of the health care system in the model provides direction for identifying strategies for improving the system and places responsibility on the system to do better to promote hope among young patients with chronic illness and their caregivers.

The Power of Hope in the Work of Justice

This essay engages Miguel De La Torre’s proposal to “embrace hopelessness” and argues that Christians should hold on to hope. The author places De La Torre’s argument in conversation with others who have written on hope and hopelessness and excavates two main weaknesses in his argument: first, a definition of hope that does not stand up to a review of the literature on the topic, especially as advocated by scholars from oppressed communities, and, second, a proposal for hopelessness that does not address how it can contribute to sustainable social transformation. The author then defends hope by drawing on the theological labor and lived experience of oppressed people who utilize hope to empower transformative social action.

Rorty, post-critical pedagogy and hope: a response

ABSTRACTThe paper is a response to the articles published in the current issue analysing Rorty’s philosophy of hope. In these articles, Bianca Thoilliez, Stefano Oliverio and Kai Wortmann highlight the pragmatist characteristics of post-critical pedagogy. Taking a poststructuralist perspective, I propose to examine some limits of the association between Rorty’s philosophy of hope and post-critical pedagogy. I will discuss, in turn, their take on the definition of hope, on the place of critique in post-critical pedagogy and on the affirmative ethos of post-critical pedagogy.

We’ve Got High Hopes: Using Hope to Improve Higher Education

In recent years, higher education’s focus has changed from curricula-focused on student learning to curricula-intended to meet performance metrics and secure institutional resources. Shifting attention from students’ learning to students’ performance has left many students, faculty, and staff within higher education feeling isolated and disconnected. What can higher education professionals do to improve institutions and enhance the student experience? One way is to re-conceptualize and redefine the concept of hope and incorporate hope into practice. This article focuses on how institutions can draw on a re-conceptualized definition of hope to improve higher education and increase student learning.

Subculture as social knowledge: a hopeful reading of otakuculture

This essay analyzes Japan’s otaku subculture using Hirokazu Miyazaki’s (2006) definition of hope as a “reorientation of knowledge.” Erosion of postwar social systems has tended to instill a sense of hopelessness among many Japanese youth. Hopelessness manifests as two analogous kinds of refusal: individual social withdrawal and recourse to solipsistic neonationalist ideology. Previous analyses of otaku have demonstrated its connections with these two reactions. Here, I interrogate otaku culture’s relationship to neonationalism by investigating its interaction with the xenophobic online subculture known as the netto uyoku. Characterizing both subcultures as discursive practices, I argue that the similarity between netto uyoku and otaku is not one of identity but one of method. Netto uyoku discourse serves to perform an imagined nationalist persona. While otaku elements can be incorporated into netto uyoku performance, other net users invoke the otaku faculty of parody to highlight the constructed nature of netto uyoku identity through ironic recontextualization. This application of otaku principles enables a description of otaku culture as a form of social knowledge, reoriented here to defuse the climate of hopelessness purveyed by the netto uyoku. In the final section, I offer examples of subcultural knowledge being applied to national and international issues in order to indicate its further potential as a source of enabling hope for Japanese youth.

Ctnost naděje v Husově Komentáři Sentencí Petra Lombardského

Jan Hus treated the theological virtue of hope in his commentary to the 3rd book of the Sentences of Peter Lombard (distinction 26). The text provokes Hus to ask three questions: Is the definition of hope by Peter Lombard correct? Is hope a virtue? Is it possible to have hope without love? In my paper, I analyse Hus' answers to these questions including their sources. Jan Hus is mostly in agreement with the great scholastic theologians and when he criticizes Tomas Aquinas, he can support his position by means of the authority of St. Augustine.

The Resilience Complex

The Resilience Complex

Until the Last Breath

To investigate the concept of hope for families and pediatric health care professionals during a child's serious illness. Eight focus groups. Academic pediatric medical center. Bereaved parents, pediatricians, pediatric residents, and nurses (N = 39). Intervention Participants were asked standardized questions related to their definition of hope, its role in medical decisions, and the benefits and detriments of hope in focus group sessions. We identified attributes of participants' concepts of hope using qualitative analysis of audio-taped sessions. While all participants identified common elements in their definition of hope, parents identified their role as bearers of hope; it was a cornerstone of decision making. Health care professionals tended to view hope as related to a positive outcome. Some physicians reported difficulty in maintaining hope in the face of prognostic data; others acknowledged the importance of the family's hope. Nurses identified particular challenges around parents' decisions to continue treatment when it prolonged the child's suffering. All participants noted the changing nature of hope and its implications for care. The tension between maintaining hope and accepting the reality of the prognosis may lessen when acknowledging that parents see their role as bearers of hope. Supporting families around the changing nature of hope may allow health care professionals to partner with parents while maintaining honest communication.

The nature and sources of hope: perspectives of family caregivers of people with serious mental illness.

To explore the importance and meaning of hope for family members of people with mental illness. Focused in-depth interviews with 16 family members in Queensland and Tasmania, Australia. The data confirm the argument that hopefulness appears to be central to a family's coping with the impact of mental illness. Their definitions of hope, descriptions of what they hoped for, and the sources of their hope reflect issues of future orientation, positive expectation, and realism. Families drew their hopefulness from both formal and informal supports, from within and without. Health professionals need to be respectful of family hopes and aware of the role of hope and time in the process of grief and acceptance. Nurses should be mindful of their capacity to sustain or diminish the hopes of family members.

Hope in psychiatry: a review of the literature

Hope has long been considered an important therapeutic factor in medicine, nursing and mental health and recently received attention as a central component of recovery. However, conceptual clarity, applicability and the predictive value of hope remain unclear. This review aims to define hope, review current approaches to assessment, and outline research evidence linking hope with effectiveness. We conducted a comprehensive review of publications on the conceptualisation and measurement of hope, and on its use as a predictive variable specifically in mental health patients. Forty-nine definitions of hope were identified, which were grouped into seven emergent dimensions. Thirty-two measurement tools were identified, although few have been used in research involving mental health patients. Eleven studies investigated hope as a predictive variable for differing outcomes, with inconclusive results. Many conceptual frameworks for hope have been proposed, but empirical evidence on its predictive power in mental health is lacking.

Hope Research Study: Metaphors and Symbols of Hope

This study explored and measured our knowledge and understanding of hope. It generated views, symbols, and metaphors of hope. The research team conducted a phenomenological study of internal meanings, and understandings of the participants of their lived experiences of hope. A qualitative-focus group method was utilized as well as a quantitative-survey exploration which permitted divergent perspectives to emerge and be integrated into a whole meaning of hope. A framework analysis approach was used to analyze the focus group data. Quantitative questions were analyzed by EZAnalize(c) statistics program. The data revealed that respondents distinguished a difference between their concept of hope and definition of hope. This study has allowed us to focus on hope, to articulate its meanings, and lead to a better idea of how hope affects us, and how we operationalize it in our lives.

Analysing Hope

The paper contrasts two approaches to the analysis of hope: one that takes its departure from a view broadly shared by Hobbes, Locke and Hume, another that fits better with Aquinas's definition of hope. The former relies heavily on a sharp distinction between the cognitive and conative aspects of hope. It is argued that while this approach provides a valuable source of insights, its focus is too narrow and it rests on a problematic rationalistic psychology. The argument is supported by a discussion of hope understood as a stance and by a consideration of the phenomenological contrast between expectation and anticipation. The paper concludes with some reflections on the relation between hope and illusion and the idea of responsible hope.

Sustaining hope when communicating with terminally ill patients and their families: a systematic review

The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies that have investigated sustaining hope during prognostic and end-of-life issues discussions with terminally ill patients and their families. A comprehensive search of databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and handsearching, from 1985 to June 2006, identified 27 studies. This review suggests that the issues surrounding hope in this context are complex. Despite the lack of unanimity among researchers regarding the definition of hope, findings suggest that balancing hope with honesty is an important skill for health professionals (HPs). Many patients seem to be able to maintain a sense of hope despite acknowledging the terminal nature of their illness. Patients and caregivers mostly preferred honest and accurate information, provided with empathy and understanding. Many different sources of hope were identified in this context in broad aspects of life, not just the medical situation. HPs need to recognize this spectrum of hope and appreciate that patients may simultaneously hope for 'cure' while acknowledging the terminal nature of their illness. HPs may help patients to cope with their terminal prognosis by exploring and fostering realistic forms of hope that are meaningful for the particular patient and their family.

Hope Among Terminally 111 Patients in Singapore

This study presents an exploration into hope, a source of strength among the terminally ill patients in Singapore. It explores, from the conventionally neglected patients' perspective, their definition of hope, factors that cause changes in their hope and roles that the formal service providers can play to instill hope in patients. All the respondents who participated in this study were diagnosed with terminal cancer and were staying in Dover Park Hospice, a hospice in Singapore for the terminally ill. The results reveal that there is greater diversity in the definition of hope among patients in Singapore compared with the definition given by patients from the studies with a non-Asian sample. Support from people, religion, acceptance of illness, and knowledge of self in better condition as compared with others were four factors found helpful in promoting hope while absence of family members led to a decrease in hope. There were three main roles performed by the formal service providers that were perceived as useful in instilling hope among terminally ill patients. They were that of (1) a care provider, (2) a provider of emotional support, and (3) a wish fulfiller. In the final analysis, the study seems to suggest that spiritual and relational hopes, together with open and honest communication between patients and family members, are very important strengths for Singaporeans diagnosed with advanced illness.

Hope in Cognitive Psychotherapies: On Working With Client Strengths

The field of psychology, which is traditionally rooted in the study and treatment of psychological disorders and pathology, recently has begun to embrace an examination of individual, as well as societal, strengths and virtues. This subspecialty within psychology, known as positive psychology, can be defined as the attempt to understand the characteristics and processes that contribute to optimal functioning, flourishing, and resiliency. The purpose of the present article is to draw a link between traditional psychology and positive psychology using the example of the positive psychological construct of hope. Specifically, we explore the ways in which hope theory can be incorporated into traditional forms of cognitive therapy for symptom reduction and elimination. First, the theory of hope (Snyder, 1994) is introduced and the concept of hopeful thought is defined. Next, we explore the distinction between Snyder’s definition of hope and Beck’s definition of hopelessness (Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974). Finally, we present possible strategies for utilizing hope concepts in cognitive therapies. Studying individuals with high levels of hope has resulted in a wealth of information about the ways these individuals overcome obstacles and find multiple ways to the goals that they have set for themselves. Integrating these lessons into empirically based treatments for symptom reduction is likely to result in a synergy that utilizes the most sound aspects of both traditional psychology and positive psychology.

The Anatomy of Hope

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewsFull AccessThe Anatomy of HopeEllen B. Tabor, M.D.Ellen B. TaborSearch for more papers by this author, M.D.Published Online:1 Feb 2005https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.56.2.226-aAboutSectionsView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Jerome Groopman, M.D., is a well-known hematologist-oncologist who publishes frequently in The New Yorker. Those who read his articles first when they get their issue of the magazine will certainly rush to read The Anatomy of Hope. They will be richly rewarded for their haste.Groopman struggles to define hope with examples set by various patients, from those most devoid of hope to those buoyed by hope in the face of what often is terminal illness. A definition of hope seems obvious; yet as the author marches through the stories of his patients and his own development as a physician treating those who often die of their disease, he increasingly refines and clarifies his meaning. Although "spirituality" is a hot topic in medicine today, Groopman strives to define what hope might mean for people who do not believe in an immortal soul, life after death, or God. He does tie hope to a sense of spirituality, but several of his patients are deeply religious members of traditional religions, and he shows how rigid adherence to religious views can deprive as much as nourish hope. The stories are devastatingly poignant; read this book with a box of tissues at your side.The author is present in the book from three vantage points. He writes in the very personal first person and recounts his patients' histories and their impact on him. He also presents the history of his development into a doctor struggling to learn how to inform fully while preserving—and even giving—hope at the same time. Finally, he shares his own medical history of chronic pain and how a doctor was able to restore the hope that was necessary for his recovery.At the conclusion of the book is a section on the biology of hope, which psychiatrists in particular should find fascinating. This section addresses the effect of physical discomfort in illness, which causes depression in a way that seems obvious and yet is not.This book provides descriptions of cancer patients. Psychiatrists and others who treat patients with chronic mental illness will readily substitute people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who strive mightily to find meaning and hope in a life now radically changed, and in many ways diminished. The author provides a template for how we can talk with patients and their families in a way that both informs truthfully and provides a framework for hope and growth.So what is hope? For Groopman, it is some combination of resilience, faith (not necessarily religious faith), and a sense of control. Although he does not make this explicit, for him it seems that to hope requires imagination of a future that continues, whether this be in the world as it is or in some other, imagined way.One topic not mentioned in the book is that of meaning. It seems to me that hope can survive only when life as it is or might be has meaning. Even from Auschwitz, Dr. Viktor Frankel could find meaning (1). Groopman, himself the child of Holocaust survivors, works to preserve hope for his patients and himself. What he often means when he describes restoring hope, or helping a patient be hopeful, is understanding the meaning they ascribe to their lives.This is a beautiful book for every reader. Students and trainees will find much to teach them about communicating with their patients; doctors will doubtless feel that there is more they can do to provide comfort and hope. Psychiatrists will see in it a means to helping patients bear unbearable affect, as well as their own.Dr. Tabor is medical director of adult inpatient psychiatry at Kings County Hospital Center and assistant professor in psychiatry at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.by Jerome Groopman, M.D.; New York, Random House, 2004, 272 pages, $24.95Reference1. Frankel V: Man's Search for Meaning. New York, Washington Square Press, 1977Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 56Issue 2 February 2005Pages 226-a-227 Metrics History Published online 1 February 2005 Published in print 1 February 2005

The concept of hope in nursing 1: its origins, background and nature.

Hope has been described in theoretical terms for many years but the recognition of the importance of hope within the practice of nursing is a more recent phenomenon. Despite the recent growth of references to hope within contemporary nursing literature, it is reasonable to suggest that there remain gaps in the substantive knowledge base and that there appears to be room for both additional research and further discursive literature. Accordingly, this series of six articles will explore the nature of hope, review the existing theoretical and empirical work in several discrete areas of nursing, and provide case studies to illustrate the role that hope plays in clinical situations. This article focuses on the origins, background and definitions of hope. The next article will examine hope within mental health nursing, and further articles will focus on hope within palliative care nursing, hope in gerontological nursing and hope in critical and acute care nursing.