Search

Objective: to investigate the socially-relevant communication of the nursing system from the Luhmannian perspective., Method: the investigation process was based in grounded theory. The data was collected between February and September 2011, through interviews carried out with nurses and student nurses at a university in the South of Brazil., Results: The central phenomenon--recognizing nursing care as an all-embracing interactive and associative phenomenon--resulted from the inter-weaving of three categories: learning the context of care as a whole, organizing the environment for the other professionals, and visibilizing interactive and associative care., Conclusion: investing in a socially relevant communication for nursing entails developing a code for functional differentiation, which may strengthen health promotion and healthy living for individuals, families and communities.

The objective was to understand the meaning of the social practice of nurses in Luhmann's perspective and allow for a discussion about the construction of a specific code for nursing; one that would go beyond the traditional health-disease code prevalent in the health system, whose relevant social communication is the disease. The Grounded Theory was the methodological framework. Data collection was performed by interviewing the 35 participants between May and December 2007. Data coding and analysis resulted revealed that assuming that nursing is as a functionally differentiated system implies on developing a binary code to enhance health as socially relevant communication and human beings as social beings who are part of a complex and multidimensional reality.