To Örebro University

Purpose: To evaluate completeness, granularity, multiple axial content, and clinical utility of the beta version of the ICNP in the context of standardized nursing care planning in a clinical setting.

Methods: An 35-bed acute care ward for infectious diseases at a Swedish university hospital was selected for clinical testing. A convenience sample of 56 patient records with data on nutrition and skin care was analyzed and mapped to the ICNP.

Findings: Using the ICNP terminology, 59%-62% of the record content describing nursing phenomena and 30%-44% of the nursing interventions in the areas of nutrition and skin care could be expressed satisfactorily. For about a quarter of the content describing nursing phenomena and interventions, no corresponding ICNP term was found.

Conclusions: The ICNP needs to be further developed to allow representation of the entire range of nursing care. Terms need to be developed to express patient participation and preferences, normal conditions, qualitative dimensions and characteristics, nonhuman focus, and duration.

Practice implications: The practical usefulness of the ICNP needs further testing before conclusions about its clinical benefits can be determined.