To test the clinical validity of clinical indicators and causal relationships of aetiological factors of the new nursing diagnosis of inadequate health self-efficacy in people with hypertension.
The diagnosis of inadequate health self-efficacy has both theoretical and content validity. However, a clinical validation study is needed to establish an appropriate framework for distinguishing individuals who manifest this unique human response.
The study adopts a cross-sectional clinical validation approach, adhering strictly to the STROBE guidelines throughout its design and implementation.
Naturalistic sampling was used to identify 302 adults diagnosed with hypertension. Their data were subjected to latent class analysis, which facilitated the identification of a comprehensive set of clinical indicators that demonstrated better diagnostic accuracy and established posterior probabilities to guide the inference of inadequate health self-efficacy. In addition, logistic regression analysis was used to assess the magnitude of the impact of aetiological factors.
The prevalence of inadequate health self-efficacy was 76.61%. Among the 13 indicators examined, seven demonstrated notable sensitivity: ‘risk-prone health behaviour’, ‘failure to take action that prevents health problems’, ‘inadequate self-control’, ‘avoidance behaviours’, ‘negative health self-perception’, ‘inadequate health-related quality of life’ and ‘difficulty feeling good about adopting a healthy lifestyle’. Additionally, two indicators showed high specificity: ‘difficulty feeling good about adopting a healthy lifestyle’ and ‘inadequate adherence to treatment regimen’. Notably, 15 aetiological factors were identified as significantly associated with an increased risk of inadequate health self-efficacy.
A clinical framework consisting of eight clinical indicators and 15 aetiological factors was developed to characterise inadequate health self-efficacy in individuals with hypertension.
Clinical validation provides insight into the precision of clinical indicators and the magnitude of the effect of putative causal elements, thereby facilitating identification and tailored intervention for individuals with hypertension and inadequate health self-efficacy.
To test a middle-range theory (MRT) for the nursing diagnosis of ineffective breathing pattern in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) based on analysis of two general propositions.
This cross-sectional study is guided by STROBE. The propositions represent hypotheses about the relationships between the concepts of this MRT to be tested empirically, and thus, log-linear models were used to verify the structure of the proposition related to the stimuli. Diagnostic accuracy measures, univariate logistic regressions and the Mann–Whitney test were used to analyse the structure of the propositions related to behaviours.
The analysis of the propositions related to the stimuli (eight concepts, four of which were classified as focal stimuli and four as contextual stimuli) suggested a reclassification of the stimulus “deformities in the thoracic wall” which became too focal. In the analysis of the propositions related to behaviours (17 concepts, five of which were classified as acute confirmatory, nine as acute clinical deterioration and three classified as chronic), guided changes in the operationalisation of concepts were suggested after comparing clinical findings; thus, acute confirmatory behaviours now have 10 concepts, while acute clinical deterioration behaviours and chronic behaviours continued with nine and three concepts, respectively, but with reclassifications between them.
Changes in the operationalisation of the classification of the elements of the two propositions occurred after comparing the clinical findings with the theoretical model.
By establishing precise causal relationships and describing how IBP manifests itself over time in children with CHD, empirical testing of this MRT helps nurses understand clinical reasoning based on temporal logic and spectral interaction between diagnostic components, which in turn will improve the use and accuracy of nursing diagnoses.
Children and adolescents with CHD were recruited for this study sharing their clinical history and physical lung examination.
To analyse the content of the nursing diagnosis ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion in patients with diabetic foot.
A methodological study with a quantitative approach was performed.
The analysis was performed between January and May 2021 by 34 nurses with clinical/theoretical/research experience with diabetes or nursing diagnoses. These nurses evaluated the relevance, clarity and precision of 12 diagnosis-specific etiological factors, 22 clinical indicators and their conceptual and operational definitions.
All 12 etiological factors analysed were considered relevant to diagnostic identification. However, five showed inconsistencies regarding the clarity or precision of the operational definitions, requiring adjustments. Regarding the 22 clinical indicators evaluated, all of them presented a Content Validity Index (CVI) that was statistically significant. However, in the indicators, the colour does not return to lowered limb after 1 min of leg elevation, and cold foot had Content Validity Index (CVI) <0.9 regarding relevance and accuracy of operational definitions.
Twelve etiological factors and 22 clinical indicators were validated. Thus, this study revealed new and relevant aspects characterising peripheral perfusion in patients with diabetic foot that have not yet been clinically validated.
This study contributes to support the professional practice of nurses through the early identification of etiological factors and clinical indicators in persons with diabetic foot. As a proposal, we suggest the inclusion of new defining characteristics and related factors for the nursing diagnosis ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion in the NANDA-I taxonomy.
The research highlights new and relevant aspects such as etiological factors and clinical indicators to characterise peripheral perfusion in patients with diabetic foot. Based on these findings, clinical validation is recommended to confirm the relevance of the proposed elements in the population studied for greater reliability and improved diagnostic assessment for the professional practice of nurses.
EQUATOR guidelines were adhered to using the GRRAS checklist for reporting reliability and agreement studies.
No patient or public contribution.