Kings General Systems Framework Theory

King’s General Systems
Framework Theory
Esmie Myle Damgasen
Kaxandra Lagrada
Imogene King, RN,
MSN, Edd, FAAN
Born: January 30, 1923 in West Point, Iowa
The youngest of three children
Died: December 24, 2007 in Saint Petersburg two days after
suffering from a stroke.
Imogene King’s education
• 1945- Completed her diploma in nursing education at St. John’s Hospital in
St. Louis, Missouri
• 1948- Received her BS in Nursing from St. Louis University
• 1957- Obtained her MS in Nursing from St. Louis University
• 1961- Obtained her Doctorate in Education(Ed.D.) from Teacher’s College in

Columbia University, N.Y.
• 1971- Published “Toward a theory of nursing: general concepts of human

behavior”
• 1980- Honorary Ph. D from Southern Illinois University Postdoctoral study in

research design, statistics and computer
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King’s Experience
• Practiced as an office nurse, staff nurse, school nurse, nurse educator, and
nurse Administrator at Ohio State University
• Educator at St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing, Loyola University, and
the University of South Florida
• Adult Medical-Surgical Nursing Practitioner
• Assistant chief of the Research Grants Branch, Division of Nursing,
Department of Health, Education and Welfare
• Professor emeritus at the University of South Florida³
Imogene King Cont’d
Formulated her theory while she was an associate professor at Loyola
University in Chicago.
“A search for literature in nursing and other behavioral science fields,
discussion with colleagues, attendance at numerous conference,
inductive and deductive reasoning, and some critical thinking about the
information gathered, lead me to formulate my own theoretical
framework.”
During this time nursing was emerging as a profession and some sought
to challenge the existing role of nurses.
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Journey towards the Theory
According to King humans have three fundamental needs
Information on health that can be accessed and utilized
Care that aims to prevent illness
Care in times of need or illness²
In 1981 King refined her concepts into a nursing theory that consisted of:
1. An open system framework as the basis of goal attainment

2. Nursing as a major system within the health care system
3. Nursing process emphasis on interpersonal processes
Used a “systems” approach in the development of her Dynamic Interacting Systems
Framework and in her subsequent goal attainment theory.

Journey Cont’d Interacting Systems Framework
included three systems:
Personal System-the individual
Interpersonal System -individuals interacting with one another
And Social system-groups of people in a community or society

sharing common goals, interests and values.
King studied the systems as a whole rather than as isolated

parts
Systems framework The three
systems included:
Personal system concepts includes: coping, spirituality, perception, self, body
image, growth and development
Interpersonal system concepts includes: interaction, communication, transaction,
role, stress and coping
Social system concepts includes: organization, authority, power, status, and
decision making
In order to identify problems and establish goals, the nurse and patient has to
perceive one another, act and react, interact, and transact.
Theory of Goal Attainment
• Describes the importance of the participation of all individuals in decision making as well as
choices, alternatives, and outcomes of nursing care.
• It pertains to the importance of interaction, perception, communication, transaction, self,
role, stress, growth and development, time, and personal space.
• Reflects King’s belief that the practice of nursing is differentiated from other healthcare
professions by what nurses do with and what they do for individuals
• The nurse and patient/client communicates information in order to set goals mutually and
then acts to attain those goals.

Seven Hypothesis in goal attainment
1. Perceptual congruence in nurse-patient interactions increases
mutual goal settings
2. Communication increases mutual goal setting between nurses
and patients which leads to satisfaction
3. Satisfaction in nurses as well as patients increases goal attainment
4. Goal attainment decreases stress and anxiety in nursing situations
5. Goal attainment increases patient learning and coping in nursing
situations
6. Role conflict experienced by nurses, patients, or both decreases
transactions in nurse-patient interactions
7. Congruence in role expectations and role performance increases
transactions in nurse-patient interactions.
Putting the theory to use
King believed that if nursing students are taught the theory
of goal attainment and it is used in nursing practice, then
goal attainment can be measured and the effectiveness of
nursing care can be demonstrated.
This theory focuses on all aspects of nursing process:
assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
King believed that a nurse must assess in order to set
mutual goals, plan to provide alternative means to achieve
goals, and evaluate to determine if the goal was reached.

Putting the theory to use cont’d
It is useful in nursing practice to create individualized plans of care
while encouraging active participation from clients in decision
making.
One current way in practice of doing this is Bedside report-this
allows for the patient to interact and know their plan of care during
the stay at the hospital.
This theory has also been used fro curriculum design in nursing
programs and used as frameworks for books. It provides a
systematic means of viewing nursing as a profession, organizing a
body of knowledge for nursing, and clarifying nursing as a discipline.

Theory Analysis KING’S RESPONSE
TO CRITIQUE
Not a perfect theory but easily understood
Clear and conceptual defined from research literature at the time of
development
Some has critiqued the theory to have limited application to nursing
especially in patients who are unable to competently interact with
the nurse.
KING’S RESPONSE TO CRITIQUE
70% of communication is non-verbal
It is impossible for a theory to address every person, event, and
situation
Summary
• King presented an open systems framework from which she
derived a theory of goal attainment. The framework consists of 3
systems including personal, interpersonal, and social.
• The major concepts of the theory are interaction,
communication, transaction, role, stress, growth and
development, space and time.
• This theory is useful, testable, and applicable to nursing practice,
although it is not a perfect theory.
5 King’s Theory Applied in current
practice
• In current practice the use of this theory relies on participation of
both the nurse and the patient for effectiveness
• It can be used in most any practice
• Reviewing the patient’s plan of care and providing the patient
with information as well as education each day
• Providing the patient with options for their plan of care
• Keeping the patient “in the loop” during their process of care
• Making decisions with the patient rather than for the patient
• Bedside report is a good start to this theory.
thank you

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King’s General Systems

• 1948- Received her BS in Nursing from St. Louis University

• 1957- Obtained her MS in Nursing from St. Louis University

• 1961- Obtained her Doctorate in Education(Ed.D.) from Teacher’s College in

• 1971- Published “Toward a theory of nursing: general concepts of human

• 1980- Honorary Ph. D from Southern Illinois University Postdoctoral study in

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1. An open system framework as the basis of goal attainment

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Personal System-the individual

Interpersonal System -individuals interacting with one another

And Social system-groups of people in a community or society

King studied the systems as a whole rather than as isolated

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