[Powerlessness: differentiation from other diagnoses and concepts]

Cristiane Giffoni Braga1, Diná de Almeida Lopes Monteiro da Cruz

  • 1Escola de Enfermagem, Wenceslau Braz. cristianegbraga@uol.com.br

The theoretical-conceptual knowledge that supports each nursing diagnosis is still not well-developed. However, nursing diagnoses are meaningful only if we look at each one as a concept that denotes a phenomenon. In addition to familiarity with the diagnostic process, nurses need to be willing to conceptually explore potentially frequent diagnoses in theirclinical practice. In this context, differentiating powerlessness from other diagnoses could be extremely difficult. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the relationship between powerlessness and other concepts that could be useful for the clinical application of the diagnosis.

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