GROUNDED THEORY AND NURSING KNOWLEDGE

Grounded theory (GT) is a research approach with origins in the interp retive tradition of symbolic interactionism. Its influence on knowledg e generation in nursing began in the 1960s and expanded over the next two decades. By the 1980s, published GT research by nurses had increas ed greatly in scope and direction. The fears of these studies included adaptations to illness, infertility, nurse adaptations and interventi ons, and status passages of vulnerable persons and groups. Within the nursing culture, use of GT has been influenced by variations in meanin gs ascribed to GT, changes in interpretive research practices, and env ironmental circumstances affecting nurse investigators. The identified theories point to the salient influences of social structure and envi ronment on human health and well-being.