Moving beyond the "exotic": applying postcolonial theory in health research

ANS Adv Nurs Sci. 2006 Apr-Jun;29(2):98-109. doi: 10.1097/00012272-200604000-00003.

Abstract

Postcolonialism offers nursing scholarship a framework for understanding culture and identity as fluid and complex, historically situated, and discursively constructed. This article describes one version of implementing postcolonial theory, using examples from a research project conducted with urban American Indians on the topic of diabetes. I demonstrate the influence and value of postcolonialism throughout the research process. A postcolonial approach can help nursing researchers and practitioners avoid reproducing injustices and stereotypes, illuminate the complexities of life at the intersections, and contribute to the construction of a more socially just world.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Colonialism
  • Cultural Diversity*
  • Diabetes Mellitus / ethnology
  • Ethics, Research
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American*
  • Nursing Methodology Research / ethics*
  • Nursing Research / ethics*
  • Politics
  • Power, Psychological
  • Prejudice
  • Qualitative Research
  • Race Relations
  • Social Dominance
  • Social Justice
  • Stereotyped Behavior
  • Transcultural Nursing / ethics*
  • United States