Advancing Equity-Oriented Nursing Research: Reflections on Integrating Intersectionality with Constructivist Grounded Theory.

Abstract

Advancing our intersectionality-framed program of work, this article positions nursing's social‑justice mandate within grounded theory (GT). We argue that constructivist grounded theory (CGT), while oriented to social justice, requires further development to address inequities faced by people at intersecting social locations. We integrate intersectionality as critical social theory and analytical tool to institute sustained intersectional thinking that heightens attention to power relations, contextual variation, and researcher positionality. Operationally, intersectionality expands core GT methods: memoing becomes a site for documenting assumptions, emotions, and the (in)visibility of structural forces; theoretical sampling is deliberately oriented to heterogeneity; and constant comparison is tuned to systems of racism, sexism, and classism across data sources. Drawing on our intersectionality‑informed CGT study of public health nurses working with refugee‑mothering women, we offer a practical blueprint of insights for equity‑driven GT and outline future congruence with ecofeminism, queer theory, Indigenous gender frameworks, and transfeminism to further strengthen qualitative methodologies and promote health equity.