Recording of nursing assessment and interventions for stroke patients with eating difficulties

A standardised language is a necessary condition for successful development and implementation of electronic patient records. In the present study a record audit was performed at a Swedish stroke unit. The aims were to analyse how the nursing process on eating difficulties after stroke was represented in nursing documentation and to describe the information that was transferred to the next care provider at discharge. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results show that care planning and nursing interventions were not visible in patient records. Furthermore, the language proved vague and expressed in a "non-professional" manner.