ANS: Advances in Nursing Science Blog

ANS Special Issue: Evolutions in Theory for Nursing Science

Timeline extended – Submissions accepted through November 8, 2025.

The submission deadline for the upcoming Advances in Nursing Science special issue on “Evolutions in Theory for Nursing Science” has been extended to November 8, 2025. Danny Willis, DNS, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, Dean of The University of Rhode Island College of Nursing and Sharron Docherty, PhD, PNP, FAAN, Vice Dean for Research, Duke University School of Nursing are the guest editors for this issue, which aims to highlight and/or challenge the status quo of theory in nursing research. The call for papers encompasses topics related to:

• Opportunities is the application of theory in nursing science
• Contemporary midrange and situation specific theories
• Philosophical and theoretical discourses in the interdisciplinary contexts of nursing
• Theorizing social justice in nursing science
• Building connections between theory, research and practice

We welcome high-quality contributions, and hope that this extension will provide an opportunity for authors to submit their work.

Please visit the ANS website for 

For detailed information on the scope and submission guidelines, please visit the ANS homepage.
https://journals.lww.com/advancesinnursingscience/pages/default.aspx

Earn Continuing Education Credits with ANS!

Each issue of ANS includes an article that is accompanied by a CE test, giving you the opportunity to each Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) credits! The NCPD article in the current issue is also a current ‘hot topic’! The article is titled “Empowering Nurses Through Data Literacy and Data Science Literacy: Insights From a State-of-the-Art Literature Review“. It is co-authored by an international team of nurse scienctists: Mikyoung Angela. Lee, PhD, RN; Pankaj Vyas, MSN, MBA, RN; Fabio D’Agostino, PhD, RN; Ann Wieben, PhD, RN, NI-BC; Cynthia Coviak, PhD, RN, FNAP; Margaret Mullen-Fortino, PhD, RN; Suhyun Park, MSN, RN; Marisa Sileo, MSN, RN, NI-BC; Emiliane Nogueira de Souza, PhD, RN; Sophia Brown, PhD, DBA, FACHE, CPHIMS, PMP; Jethrone Role, DNP, RN, LHIT; Anita Reger, PhD, RN; and Lisiane Pruinelli, PhD, RN, FAMIA.

Statement of Significance

What is known or assumed to be true about this topic?

1. The volume and complexity of data that health care professionals must understand and use is increasing exponentially, driven by the growing demands of data-driven health care to promote patient outcomes and address health equity.

2. There is a critical need for comprehensive education tailored to equip nurses with a nuanced understanding of both data literacy and data science literacy.

What this article adds:

1. A review of recent frameworks, models, training, and assessment tools for developing data literacy and data science literacy among nurses and other health care professionals.

2. Recommendations for action in educational and practice settings to enhance data literacy and data science literacy among nurses.

VISIONS in ANS

Each issue of ANS contains an article from the Society of Rogerian Scholars, named for the original journal of the Society – Visions. This section features scholarship of Rogerian Nursing Science. The current Visions article is titled “Through a Window: Finding Meaning in Unitary Appreciative Knowing,” authored by W. Richard Cowling III, RN, PhD, AHN-BC, SGAHN, ANEF,
FAAN; and Leslie H. Nicoll, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN

Abstract:

The experience of a critical illness provided a pause in the life of one of the authors. Seeking to further understand this experience from a Rogerian perspective, the authors engaged in a mutual process of unitary appreciative nursing praxis. The process included 4 in-depth conversations with an ongoing back-and-forth conversation to both illuminate the critical illness experience as well as grounding it in the Science of Unitary Human Beings. A unitary appreciative rendering was the primary outcome with a letter, song, video, conference presentation, and scholarly manuscript. Other selected Rogerian perspectives that can be used to understand the illness experience are presented and briefly discussed.

Statements of Significance

What is known or assumed to be true about this topic?
The unitary appreciative knowing process has been used in the development of a praxis model as well as in a variety of research studies. The process enables the viewing of phenomena of central
concern through a unitary lens that often expands and deepens an understanding of an experience. The phenomena of transcending the wish to die to experiencing a strong will to live, and to live voraciously, are understudied in the nursing literature. Nurses’ firsthand accounts of patients experiencing unusual or unexplainable phenomena are often relegated to anecdotal accounts, not fully appreciating the significance and meaning of these experiences.

What this article adds:
This article applies the unitary appreciative knowing process to explore the experience of transcending the wish to die replaced with an extraordinary blossoming of a will to live. A consensual
qualitative approach is employed to examine the meaning of this experience from a unitary appreciative knowing perspective. This is the first article to represent and explicate the unitary
knowing process within the context of this type of transcendent experience leading to a unitary appreciative rendering of the experience, perceptions, and expressions associated with it. In addition, it offers the potential alternative unitary explications of the experience related to 4 associated theoretical niches.

ANS International Section

The current ANS International Section article is titled “Intersectionality in Maternal Health: Gender, Labor, and Structural Barriers With “a Focus on Korea,” This article is authored by Jeung-Im Kim, PhD of the School of Nursing, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Chungnam, South Korea; and Mi Yu, PhD of the College of Nursing, Sustainable Health Research Institute, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam, South Korea.

Article abstract

Drawing on intersectional feminist theory, this review interrogates maternal health disparities through lenses of gender, labor, and structural inequality, with a particular focus on South Korea. It integrates global trends with local realities to examine how socioeconomic status, digital divides, and algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence systems could compound maternal vulnerability. By critically evaluating gender gaps in nursing research and leadership, this paper advocates for the adoption of intersectionality as a foundational framework in nursing science to redress inequities and promote inclusive health care innovation.

Statements of Significance

What is known or assumed to be true about this topic?

• Maternal health is shaped by intersecting factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and employment. In Korea and other countries, women face structural barriers such as workplace discrimination, financial strain, and stress during pregnancy. Although technological innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) offer new possibilities for care delivery, their effectiveness is limited when gender biases in data and design are unaddressed. Despite increasing global focus on health equity, Korean nursing research often relies on gender-neutral frameworks that overlook lived experiences of marginalized women.

What this article adds:

• This review introduces an intersectional perspective to the examination of maternal health disparities in Korea, placing local issues within broader international frameworks. It shows how gender, economic inequality, and digital access can combine with each other to affect health outcomes, highlighting risks related to algorithmic bias and digital exclusion in AI-based care. The article calls for gender-responsive, inclusive nursing research and recommends strategies such as diversifying health data, expanding community-based care, and ethically integrating digital technologies. It argues that structural change in nursing is essential to advance equity in maternal health.

Featured “International Section” in ANS 48:2!

The current issue ANS features the article titled “Nursing Philosophy and Theory in Japan: Current Trends and Challenges.” This article is authored by Reiko Sakashita, PhD, RN, PHN, FAAN; Kenji Awamura, MSN, RN, PHN; and Hiroshi Ono, PhD, RN, PHN from the University of Hyogo, Akashi City, Japan. The “Statements of Signifcance” for this article give clues to why this information is important for all of us!

Statements of Significance

What is known or assumed to be true about this topic?

After World War II, under the guidance of the GHQ (General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers), American nursing education was introduced in Japan. Theories developed in the United States began to be actively translated and incorporated into basic nursing education in the 1960s. From 1990 onward, the number of nursing universities in Japan has increased, but since 2000, interest in nursing theories has declined significantly.

What this article adds?

Here, we reveal the current state of nursing philosophy and theories in Japan. Specifically, we explored how nursing philosophy and theories are taught in doctoral programs, the topics covered in the literature on nursingphilosophy and theories, and any theories developed by Japanese researchers. We also propose future directions for exploring nursing philosophy and theories, and hope to spark a conversation among readers with respect to how these insights could shape the future of nursing education and practice in Japan.

Upcoming Special Issue – Oct-Dec 2025!

Advances in Nursing Science is pleased to announce an upcoming special issue that invites a conversation between the past and future of nursing science. Issue 48(4) will bring together contributions from members of the ANS advisory board, offering fresh perspectives on seminal articles and influential ideas that have shaped the field over the past five decades.

This issue is anchored by two themes, “What is Nursing Science?” and “Social Justice and Nursing Science,” and will revisit articles that examine social, political, ontological and epistemological questions at the heart of the discipline. These articles ask how nurses understand their roles in a changing world, and how our core commitments, knowledge and capacity to effect change continue to evolve.

Even as the political, social and scientific landscapes continue to shift, the questions that shaped the field’s early development remain deeply relevant, calling for renewed reflection.

While reviewing the journal’s archives in preparation for this issue, we came across an unpublished editorial by founding Editor (now Emerita) Dr. Peggy Chinn. Written more than a decade ago, it reads as if it could have been written today:

“As a discipline, we stand in a particularly key place and time to focus on scholarship that is both high in scientific merit and creative – worldwide there are major changes underway in healthcare systems, and the boundaries of science are expanding like never before. Nurses have a long and valuable tradition of challenging the status quo in our quest for better care for those we serve, and in our quest for a more inclusive and wholistic approach to human health and illness.”

Times change, but the heart of nursing science endures. We look forward to sharing this special issue with you.