Oral Presentation The 26th International Nursing Philosophy Conference 2023

Care Biography: A Concept Analysis (#41)

Matthew Tieu 1
  1. Flinders University, Adelaide/Bedford Park, SA, Australia

The idea of a “care biography” is relatively novel and not commonly used or explicitly understood within medical and care contexts. It represents a recent evolution in models of health and illness and can potentially play a significant role in promoting new ways of understanding care and driving innovation in care provision, particularly regarding person-centred, integrative, and relationship-based fundamental care approaches. Additionally, the advent of new technologies that enable recording of vast and growing amounts of personal information spanning one’s life, and the emergence of AI and predictive technologies that draw from such information, compel us to consider its range of potential utilities in care contexts. In this paper we begin by describing the recent shift towards integrated life course models of health and illness and its implications for our understanding and practice of care, from which the idea of “care biography” emerges. We then report on a concept analysis of “care biography”, identifying its attributes, components, and potential utility, while also differentiating it from similar concepts. We propose an operational definition that can be applied towards advancing our understanding of care and its provision through the development of relevant tools, products, interventions, and assistive technologies.