Testing the nursing outcomes classification in three clinical units in a community hospital

The testing of the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) was the focus of a 4-year study to evaluate the use of the outcomes and measurement scales developed by the Iowa Outcomes Project, a research team at the University of Iowa. Three units in a Midwest community hospital collected data as part of the larger (ten) clinical site study to test the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the NOC. This article focuses on the results of sensitivity testing obtained in a birth center, behavioral health center, and an oncology unit in a midwestern community hospital. Methods used in this study focused on change scores from initial assessment to post-treatment status for the outcomes studied in each unit. Average baseline ratings, average follow-up ratings, average change scores, and range of change are reported. Thirty-five outcomes are reported for the behavioral health unit, 21 outcomes are reported for the Birth Center, and 8 outcomes for the Oncology Unit. The overall average baseline for the behavioral health unit was 1.89 with an average follow-up rating of 3.22. For the Birth Center, the average baseline rating was 3.23 with an average follow-up score of 3.88. For the Oncology Unit, the average baseline score was 3.01 with an average follow-up rating of 3.12. The results of this study suggest that the NOC outcomes are able to identify change in some outcome ratings through time and in a direction expected for the populations studied in these three specialty units.