IMOGENE KING'S
GOAL ATTAINMENT THEORY
IMOGENE KING'S BIOGRAPHY
• born in 1923.
• Earned a diploma in nursing from St. John's Hospital of
Nursing in St Louis in 1945.
• Worked as office nurse, staff nurse, school nurse, and
private duty nurse to support herself while studying for a
baccalaureate degree.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Louis University in
1948
• Masters of Science in Nursing from St. Louis University in
1957
• Doctorate from Teacher's college, Columbia University, New
York in 1961.
Imogene King's Theory of Goal Attainment
was first introduced in the 1960s. From the
title itself, the model focuses on the
attainment of certain life goals. It explains
that the nurse and patient go hand-in-hand in
communicating information, set goals
together, and then take actions to achieve
those goals.
The Theory of Goal Attainment states that
“Nursing is a process of action, reaction, and
interaction by which nurse and client share
information about their perception in a nursing
situation” and “a process of human interactions
between nurse and client whereby each perceives
the other and the situation, and through
communication, they set goals, explore means,
and agree on means to achieve goals.”
CONCEPTUAL SYSTEM AND MIDDLE-RANGE
THEORY OF GOAL ATTAINMENT
• Describes her theory as a dynamic, interpersonal relationship in
which a patient grows and develops to attain certain life goals
•This theory explains that factors which can affect the attainment of
goals are;
✓roles
✓stress
✓space
✓time
METAPARADIGM IN NURSING:
1.Nursing - an observable behavior found in the health care systems in
society
2.Person - has the ability to perceive, think, feel,choose, set goals, select
means to achieve goals & to make decision
3.Health - a dynamic state in the life cycle, whereas illness interferes with
the process
4.Environment – the background for human interactions
PROPOSITIONS OF KING’S THEORY:
1. If perceptual interaction accuracy is present in nurse client interactions, transaction will
occur.
2. If nurse & client make transaction, goal will be attained.
3. If goals are attained, satisfaction will occur in nurses and patients.
4. If transactions are made in nurse-client interactions, growth & development will be enhanced.
5. If role expectations and role performance as perceived by nurse & client are congruent,
transaction will occur.
6. If role conflict is experienced by nurse or client or both, stress in nurse-client interaction will
occur.
7. If nurse with social knowledge and skill communicate appropriate information to client,
mutual goal setting and goal attainment will occur.
8. If goal attainment is achieved, there is decreased stress and anxiety in nursing situations.
3 INTERACTING SYSTEMS:
1.Personal System - individuals are personal systems. Everyone is
an open, total unique system in constant interaction with the
environment.
2.Interpersonal System - 2 or more individuals in interaction form
interpersonal systems.
3.Social System - an organized boundary system of social role,
behaviors and practices developed to maintain values and the
mechanisms to regulate the practice and rules.
STRENGTHS OF THE THEORY
• A major strong point of King’s conceptual system and Theory of Goal
Attainment is how nurses can understand goal attainment theory and
describe a logical sequence of events.
• For most parts, concepts are concretely defined and illustrated.
• Kings definitions are clear and are conceptually derived from the research
literature. Her Theory of Goal Attainment presents ten major concepts. The
concepts are easily understood and derived from the research literature,
which clearly establishes King’s work as important for knowledge building
in nursing.
WEAKNESSES OF THE THEORY
• Theory of Goal Attainment has been criticized for having limited application in
nursing areas in which patients are unable to interact competently with the nurse.
King maintained the broad use of the theory in most nursing situations.
• Another limitation relates to the lack of development of applying the theory in
providing nursing care to groups, families, or communities.
• King's theory also contains some inconsistencies: (1) She indicates that nurses
are concerned about groups’ health care but concentrates her discussion on
nursing as occurring in a dyadic relationship. (2) King says that the nurse and client
are strangers, yet she speaks of their working together for goal attainment and the
importance of health maintenance
CONCLUSION
King contributed to the advancement of nursing knowledge by
developing her conceptual system and middle-range Theory of
Goal Attainment. By focusing on attaining goals or outcomes by
nurse-patient partnerships, King provided a conceptual system
and middle-range theory that has demonstrated its usefulness to
nurses. Nurses working in various settings with patients from
around the world continue to use King’s work to improve the
quality of patient care.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Conduct empirical research to validate the theory's applicability in
non-traditional settings (e.g., telehealth, community health).
• Expand the theory to integrate family and community dynamics
more explicitly.
• Develop tools to measure the effectiveness of goal attainment in
diverse clinical situations.
References:
https://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Imogene-King.php
https://youtu.be/K6UW6FIxzuE?si=WUwhnGGn6dyJ2fGX
THANK YOU!
