A critical appraisal of the concept, quality of life, as used in nursing theories, is presented in a historically situated context. This approach to concept analysis was selected to illuminate the subjective, contextual, and fluid nature of the concept. Based on this review, quality of life is defined as an intangible, subjective perception of one's lived experience. From a review of Peplau's, Rogers', Leininger's, King's, and Parse's conceptualizations of quality of life, it is concluded that it may be viable to replace health with quality of life as a metaparadigm concept for nursing.
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