Teaching holistic child health promotion using Watson's theory of human science and human care

Abstract

"Preservation and advancement of human care is a critical issue for nursing today in our increasingly depersonalized society. The mandate for nursing within science as well as within society is a demand for cherishing of the wholeness of human personality" (Watson, 1999, p. 29). Children today are being faced with having to deal with this societal "depersonalization." How children grow up to perceive themselves and others is crucial in developing future adults who genuinely care about themselves and humankind in its totality. Watson's (1999) human science and human care theory was incorporated into teaching health promotion to a group of preadolescent children.