Emancipatory nursing, the environment, and anti-oppressive practice

Our featured article for the coming two weeks is titled “A Theoretical Framework for

Elisabeth Dahlborg- Lyckhage

Emancipatory Nursing With a Focus on Environment and Persons’ Own and Shared Lifeworld” by Elisabeth Dahlborg Lyckhage, PhD; Eva Brink, PhD and Berit Lindahl, PhD. In this article, the authors conceptualize “rooms” that re-focus understanding of the central phenomenon of the person’s experience of health, along with the central influence of the environment in shaping that experience (see model below). The theoretical framework leads to understanding and action in the form of anti-oppressive practice (AOP). They state: “Knowing

Eva Brink

the complexity involved in defining health is basic to understanding a person’s experiences of health. But, in contemporary nursing, definitions of health need to be complemented by more explicit critical and environmental aspects, the aim being increased equality and social justice.” (page 344).  Dr. Dahlborg-Lyckhage shared this message about their work:

Due to a growing inequity, regarding both health and received care among different groups we propose an emancipatory theoretical framework for nursing care practice. The focus on environment is a way of connecting to Nightingale’s work, although in the

Berit Lindahl

Western world of today there are other problems in the environment that affect nursing care. By using the metaphor room, we scrutinize our environment, from the philosophical level to the interactions between care seeking persons and the professionals. We hope that the paper will contribute to the existing literature on equality in nursing.