Bridging Cure and Healing Through Care: A Scoping Review of Nursing's Role in Integrating Biomedical and Holistic Paradigms
Mahtab Farahani, Alireza Nikbakht Nasrabadi, Hamidreza Namazi, Arpi Manookian, Mohammad Ali Cheraghi, Mohammad Ali MardomPurpose
To examine the role of nursing care as a mediating bridge between biomedical cure and holistic healing within the framework of holistic nursing, and to identify barriers and strategies for integrating these paradigms in nursing practice.
Design
A scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.
Method
PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched in May 2025 (updated February 2026). Twenty-seven studies met inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using narrative synthesis with inductive thematic analysis in MAXQDA 2020.
Finding
Twenty-seven studies were included, yielding five interrelated themes: (i) the tension between care and cure; (ii) healing as a multidimensional and transcendent outcome; (iii) nursing care as a potential mediating mechanism between cure and healing; (iv) barriers to integration; and (v) strategies for strengthening nursing's integrative role.
Conclusion
Findings suggest that nursing care may function as an integrative mechanism through which biomedical cure and holistic healing can be meaningfully connected in practice. However, this potential is significantly constrained by persistent barriers. Educational reform, organizational support, culturally sensitive spiritual care, and thoughtful technology integration are essential strategies for promoting holistic nursing practice. Future research should empirically test integrative models and evaluate their impact on patient and nurse outcomes within holistic nursing frameworks.