Caring: theoretical perspectives of relevance to nursing

Caring as a central concept within nursing has led to the development of se veral caring theories, the most well known being Madeleine Leininger's Theo ry of Culture Care and Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring, both of which were formulated in the 1970s. This paper explores a total of four caring th eories: the two established theories presented by Leininger and Watson, Sim one Roach's theory developed in the 1980s, and a recent caring theory devel oped by Boykin & Schoenhofer. A comparison of these theories is presented d rawing on a number of criteria, namely: origin of theory, scope of theory, definition of caring, description of nursing, key concepts of the theory, a nd goal/outcome. Additionally, simplicity as a central component of interna l structure is examined in relation to each. Based on this analysis, simila rities and differences are highlighted, concluding with a discussion of the utility of the caring theories within nursing practice.