Towards a nursing minimum data set for Ireland: making Irish nursing visible

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Health Services Research
• Clinical Data Management

Background:

• Development of a nursing minimum data set (NMDS) in Ireland was initiated in 2002.
• An NMDS captures essential patient problems, nursing interventions, and outcomes for patient care documentation.
• Existing NMDSs are utilized globally for workforce planning, financing, patient profiling, and trend forecasting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify patient problems, nursing interventions, and nursing outcomes for inclusion in an Irish nursing minimum data set.
• To empirically generate an initial list of items for the Irish NMDS.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative data collection through eleven focus groups with 59 registered general nurses.
• Quantitative data analysis from 45 sets of nursing records to examine nurses' recordings.
• Research conducted between January 2003 and April 2004.

Main Results:

• Identified patient problems, nursing interventions, and outcomes comparable to existing NMDSs.
• Discovered several novel items and categories, validating the empirical approach.
• Nursing records revealed inconsistencies between nurses' perceptions and actual documentation practices.

Conclusions:

• The study identified new categories of indirect nursing interventions and management activities.
• These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of nursing's contribution to patient care.
• Further testing will refine the Irish nursing minimum data set incorporating these new elements.