Donna J. Perry

Transcendent pluralism and the influence of nursing testimony on environmental justice legislation.

Environmental justice is an important issue affecting health disparities. Using the framework of transcendent pluralism, this article describes nursing actions and research in a legislative coalition for an environmental justice bill. Two descriptive studies are conducted: a focus group with six legislative aides and an evaluation of a nursing presentation given to 10 Massachusetts state legislators. Pretest and posttest results showed a small but significant increase in the legislators’ disposition toward the bill; the mean score increased from 5.4 to 5.9 (p = .037). Legislators perceived nurses as lobbying more for nursing profession issues than general health issues (score of 6.3 vs. 4.6; p = .009). Guidelines for lobbying that emerged from the data are included. The author argues that nursing knowledge should play a vital role in public policy and that nurses need to broaden their efforts beyond professional issues to the larger issues that influence a healthy human society.

Peace through a healing transformation of human dignity: possibilities and dilemmas in global health and peace.

Collective violence leads to grievous harm for affected populations, impacting both combatants and noncombatants. In recent years there has been an increased focus on the relationship between peace and health, with the World Health Organization calling for health professionals to engage in efforts to promote peace. While the notion of “health as a bridge for peace” is promising, there are many ambiguities in this emerging field, creating moral and practical dilemmas. In this manuscript I will discuss some of the challenges within the paradigm of health and peace using an exemplar of my research within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Exercising Nursing Essential and Effective Freedom in Behalf of Social Justice: A Humanizing Model.

This article expands upon previous work by the authors to develop a model of nursing essential and effective freedom to facilitate nursing action in behalf of social justice. The article proposes that while social justice is rooted in nursings ontological, epistemological, and moral foundations, the disciplines social justice mandate is constrained by its historical and contemporary location within an institutionalized medical paradigm. We present a model of nursing “essential” and “effective” freedom based on the philosophy of Bernard Lonergan to illustrate how nursing can transcend these barriers. This humanizing model is illustrated through personal narratives of the authors.

Transcendent Pluralism: A Middle-Range Theory of Nonviolent Social Transformation Through Human and Ecological Dignity.

Transcendent pluralism is a middle-range theory that focuses on the emergence of human dignity within relationships among diverse peoples through nonviolent social transformation. The theory proposes that contemporary social problems that negatively influence health are rooted in human and ecological devaluation and that healing is needed through the advance of dignity. The theory has been developed through both deductive and inductive processes including 4 research studies. The theory of transcendent pluralism provides a framework for nurses seeking to advance dignity. This article provides an overview of the theorys development and components.

Combatants for Peace

There is a growing body of knowledge related to peace, encompassing numerous domains including bias and stereotype formation, intergroup relations, conflict resolution, negotiation, mediation, peace making, peace building, and peace education. While a comprehensive review of the literature on these topics is beyond the scope of this book, the present chapter will review some of that literature as it relates to the work of Combatants for Peace (CFP). The approach of CFP is consistent with much of the current research on peace building and peace education but also offers its own unique contribution.