Abstract

Background: Precise nursing actions assure quality human health care. However, such actions are often identified as low-level health care work thereby delegated as tasks that only need completion. With the Japanese elderly population increasing at a phenomenal rate, these types of nursing actions are critically demanded. As a health care practice problem leading to labor shortages in health care settings specifically among nurses and direct health caregivers, Japan has made a national commitment focused on developing healthcare robots to respond to the nursing care demands of the older adult population. Transactive relationships are necessary in human and robot nurse-patient interactions. How will human persons and humanoid nursing robots (HNRs) relate with each other? Research on robots assisting patient care is needed to reduce human-dependent activities thereby sanctioning human nurses’ focus on direct human caring relationships.
Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the Transactive Relationship Theory of Nursing (TRETON) for nursing engagements between HNRs and human persons.
Methods: Theory development and Systematic Review of Literature focused on the phenomenon of healthcare engagements, humanoid robots, and nursing practice. Specifically, the metaparadigms of Nursing provided the procedural theoretical structures.
Results/Findings: The TRETON is the product of theory development. Nursing encounters between humanoid nursing robots and human persons in transactive interactions were described within the metaparadigms of person, nursing, environment, and health.
Conclusion: The TRETON is a middle-range theory of nursing guiding nursing practice focused on the relationship between human persons and humanoid nursing robots. It endorses two critical nursing questions, i.e., if the nature of HNRs is to assume human caring practices to promote human health and well-being, will this nature matter to nursing care of human persons? What will engender the nature of the transaction between human persons and HNRs in 21st century ontology of nursing?