Nursing diagnosis in the chronically ill: methodology for clinical validation.

The identification and validation of nursing diagnoses that describe the phenomena of concern to nursing is a critical task. Methodological issues revolving around the conceptualization of nursing and the research approach have hampered this effort. This study used the human needs framework as a guide for the assessment and formulation of nursing diagnoses. A two-phase study was conducted. In Phase 1 five judges derived 51 nursing diagnoses using data from direct clinical observations of 50 subjects. In Phase 2 data from a second sample of 108 subjects were compared to Phase 1 data via computer analysis. Fifty of the 51 diagnoses were confirmed.

Nursing theory: the comparison of four theoretical proposals.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to describe theory and its relationship to nursing knowledge and practice, and (2) to compare the theoretical proposals of Imogene King (1975), Dorothea Orem (1971), Martha Rogers (1970) and Sister Calista Roy (1970).