Reconceptualising Well-Being in Person-Centred Nursing Through an Epicurean Lens: A Scoping Review and Philosophical–Interpretive Synthesis

Background Well-being is central to person-centred nursing, but its meaning remains conceptually unstable. This review mapped and analysed representations of well-being in person-centred nursing and care literature and examined how the Epicurean concepts of aponia and ataraxia might contribute to its theoretical reconstruction. Methods We conducted a scoping review incorporating a Walker and Avant-informed concept analysis and a critical philosophical-interpretive synthesis, following Joanna Briggs Institute guidance and PRISMA-ScR. PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection and supplementary Google Scholar searches identified contemporary nursing evidence and relevant Epicurean scholarship. Evidence was charted descriptively; nursing sources were analysed for uses, attributes, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents of well-being, and the two evidence streams were compared through a structured conceptual matrix. Results Of 1,600 records identified, 26 sources were included: 20 empirical nursing sources and six philosophical sources. Nursing evidence represented well-being as multidimensional, individualised, experiential, relational and dynamic. Six interrelated attributes were identified: autonomy and agency; meaning and meaningful engagement; relational connection and communication; positive affect, engagement and vitality; freedom from suffering and psychological distress; and quality of everyday life and personally valued living. Epicurean analysis identified aponia, ataraxia, stable pleasure, rational desire management and freedom from fear as relevant philosophical resources. Their integration supported a reconstruction in which freedom from avoidable bodily suffering and excessive mental disturbance complements, rather than replaces, autonomy, meaning, relationships, participation and personally valued living. Conclusions Well-being in person-centred nursing is better understood as living well according to the person's values and priorities than as a single clinical or psychological outcome. Aponia and ataraxia offer complementary normative anchors, but the proposed framework remains theoretically generative and requires empirical evaluation across diverse nursing contexts.