Change Theory by Kurt Lewin: Context, Content, Application Research Paper

Introduction

The use of interdisciplinary theories is frequently required in the medical profession to explain human behaviors and diseases. Clinical collaboration between nurses and the medical staff is one of the main keys to success and understanding how to offer high-quality care to patients (Mahdizadeh et al., 2015). In this paper, the change theory by Kurt Lewin in the middle of the 20th century will be analyzed from the point of view of its scope, context, content, and application in modern nursing practice. This three-step model (unfreezing, moving, and refreezing) was originated in child psychology of the 1920s when the development of children from one stage to another was studied (Burnes, 2019).

It was used as a part of an ethnographic study to understand the nature of change and the worth of leadership in organizational management (Hussain et al., 2018). The same theory was applied to improve and influence change in healthcare facilities or support nurses in transitions. The worth of Lewin’s theory of change is the possibility of pushing participants in the necessary direction, predicting challenges, and achieving the desired success.

Summary of the Theory

People consider change as a complex process with several rules and unexpected outcomes. However, the application of appropriate theories and models aims at facilitating organizational change, and nurses find it effective to choose the best alternatives. The name of Kurt Lewin is associated with the best achievements in the fields of organizational change and social psychology (Burnes, 2019). His model introduces change as a dynamic force that motivates participants to use available resources and skills to achieve the best results.

Scope

In nursing, change is an obligatory process that has to be properly calculated, planned, and explained. Its implementation is characterized by unpredictable complications, and nurses find it helpful to use specific theories like the model offered by Lewin. Its central idea is that human behavior is a dynamic balance between driving and restraining forces to promote social self-regulation within a particular context (Lewin, as cited in Burnes, 2019).

Lewin was never a nurse, but he used his experience to develop a strong nursing model with three major steps to unfreeze human actions, move or apply the change, and refreeze the environment. According to this theory, prior learning is required to understand what ideas and movements have to be rejected or replaced and why. Lewin explained the need for motivation, explanation, and collaboration in nursing practice to prove the inevitability of change and improvements. His model has been successfully implemented in nursing, health care, business management, and many other areas where people cannot avoid change.

Context

The presence of interdisciplinary theories in nursing explains the appropriateness of Lewin’s change theory. This model is defined as a non-nursing theory due to its frequent application in other spheres where organizational management is a key activity. However, the analysis of the nursing metaparadigm concepts addressed by this theory shows why the medical staff should not neglect its usage in modern practice. There are four metaparadigm concepts to be applied in theory analysis. Nursing is defined as a process of unfreezing, change, and refreezing organized by nurses for patients to accept change in their well-being and health care.

A person is determined by the combination of personal characteristics and a social situation in which patients and nurses find themselves. Health is not only a curing process or a good condition of a patient but a transition when new patterns are introduced and influence individual well-being. The environment is a balance (or equilibrium) of forces that promote change, prepare participants, and enhance evaluation.

Content

There are several unique concepts developed by Lewin in his model. First, the process of change undergoes three specific stages, called unfreezing, moving (or change), and refreezing. In unfreezing, the participants aim at understanding their current condition and past experiences to overcome resistance and let old patterns go (Burns, 2019). The next stage is moving or changing when new ideas, approaches, and interventions (human feelings and behaviors) are offered to enhance productive outcomes (Hussain et al., 2018). Finally, refreezing is the step to establish change as a standard of care or behavior or explain the reasons for not accepting it and returning to old patterns.

Nurses have to consider three main elements – driving and restraining forces and equilibrium. Driving forces focus on facilitating change and motivating a person in the necessary direction. Burnes (20