THEORY APPLICATION
Critical caring is a theory that is linked in the social activ- ism of Nightingale and grounded in Watson’s human car- ing theory and creative health promotion processes, and in feminist theory. Critical caring provides a framework for PHNs to engage in empowered caring. Falk-Rafael and Betker interviewed expert Canadian PHNs using a multimodal research design. Their research identified three overarching themes from partic- ipants’ reports: 1) the moral imperative and difficulty in articulating an ethical framework for practice, 2) pursuing social justice by advocating for health equity, and 3) expe- riencing barriers to their moral agency (i.e., being unable to do what their moral sense impelled them to do) and moral distress. The premise that “critical caring is a caring ethic through which social justice may be expressed” was sup- ported by Falk- Rafael and Betker’s research. Caring is also a relational ethic based on the experiential aspects of PHN practice. The critical caring theory supports the importance of creating and maintaining supportive physi- cal, social, economic, and political environments for clients and nurses having a critical role in creating these environ- ments