Grand and Middle Range Theories
Meriam Izobo
Oakland University

Grand and Middle Range Theories

When one thinks of the word theory the next thought should be nursing because the foundations of nursing are built from nursing theories. The history of nursing holds a significance to theory in that theories help establish nursing as a profession (Smith & Liehr, 2014). Theories from the past in the Nightingale era and new theories today in the 21st century aid in the guidance of nursing practice and research (Smith & Liehr, 2014). In the twentieth century, nursing was not recognized as an academic discipline or a profession (Alligood, 2013). As theories such as the middle range and grand theories are being brought to the
This theory discusses nurse-patient interaction and the idea that if positive interaction occurs then satisfaction, growth, and development will be attained between the nurse and the patient, which is primary goal in nursing (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). Grand theories are difficult to test and serve as a basis for the development of other theories (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). A key contribution of grand theories to nursing is that they distinguish nursing form other healthcare professions and provide the connection of nursing to science (Peterson & Bredow, 2009) Middle range theories hold characteristics of being less abstract, narrower in scope, composed of fewer concepts and propositions, are used in empirical testing, and can be applied to practice for explanation and implementation (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). These theories are most useful in clinical practice, creating clinical practice guidelines, and nursing research (Peterson & Bredow, 2009)." Qualitative research, particularly phenomological and grounded theory studies have served as a source of middle range theory development" (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). The foundation of the middle range theory is based off chronic sorrow (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). An example of a middle range theory is the theory of caregiver stress, which discusses caregivers who care for ill loved ones after they are discharged. Many of these caregivers become stressed and lack the appropriate