What is Hope - Meaning and definition

Published by Roberto Wenk. Reviewed by Alison Ramsey. Last updated date: November 23, 2018.

Hope is a multidimensional dynamic force that is characterized by a confident, yet uncertain expectation of achieving something good, which is realistically possible and personally significant.

Wahl AK et al. The Norwegian version of the Herth Hope Index (HHI-N): A psychometric study. Palliative and Supportive Care, 2004;2:255-263.

Published by Roberto Wenk. Reviewed by Alison Ramsey. Last updated date: November 23, 2018.

Hope is defined as primarily a cognitive construct and the effect associated with hope as an epiphenomenon.
The mechanism of hoping is defined as a "perceived capability to produce workable routes to desired goals (pathways thinking) and the requisite motivation to use those routes (agency thinking)."
The nature of hope is an universal concept and is applicable in health as in illness, in all cultures, and across the different stages of life.

Editorial. Hope: Concerning structure and function. Palliative and Supportive Care, 2004;2:229-230.

Published by Roberto Wenk. Reviewed by Alison Ramsey. Last updated date: November 23, 2018.

Particularized hopes are specific, goal-directed hopes. As the illness progresses, patients may express different kinds of hopes, i.e., hope for relief of pain, hope for a cure.

Generalized hopes are less tangible, representing a personal inner experience of hope. It is important to enhance this type of hope within patients, particularly as their ability to engage in goal-oriented hopes wanes with advanced diseases.

Nekolaichuk CL and Bruera E. Assessing hope at the end of life: Validation of an experience of hope scale in advanced care care patients. Palliative and Supportive Care, 2004;2:243-253.

Published by Roberto Wenk. Reviewed by Alison Ramsey. Last updated date: November 23, 2018.

Hope is the anticipation of something better to come and is an essential component of life.
Initially, hope is for cure or restoration of health. In terminal illness, when there is no longer the possibility for cure, hope rests in in the knowledge and skills of the medical scientist to alter the course of the disease or to prolong life. At the end of life, when science can do no more, it becomes hope to find meaning in life, as it was lived, and in the time that remains.

Hawthorne D and Yurkovich. Hope at the end of life: Making a case for hospice. Palliative and Supportive Care, 2004;2:415-417.

To cite

Hope. IAHPC Pallipedia. https://pallipedia.org/hope/. Accessed