Patient assessment in psychiatric nursing

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychiatric Nursing
• Healthcare Assessment

Background:

• Current nursing assessment practices predominantly focus on physiological data.
• Psychosocial indices are largely neglected in standard patient assessments.
• Historical factors and an oversimplified concept of 'need' contribute to this imbalance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the literature on patient assessment in nursing, with a specific focus on psychiatric nursing.
• To identify the reasons behind the overemphasis on physiological data and neglect of psychosocial factors.
• To propose a more holistic and capability-focused model for nursing assessment.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of patient assessment in nursing.
• Analysis of historical factors influencing nursing assessment practices.
• Examination of the 'nursing process' and its impact on assessment.
• Discussion of conceptual models for nursing diagnosis.

Main Results:

• Nursing assessment literature reveals a strong bias towards physiological information.
• Psychosocial aspects of patient health are significantly underrepresented in current assessment practices.
• The study identifies historical, educational, and conceptual factors contributing to this bias.

Conclusions:

• Nursing assessment should adopt a holistic perspective, integrating psychosocial and physiological data.
• Assessment should shift focus from patient disabilities to capabilities.
• A more comprehensive and lengthy assessment process is recommended, leading to accurate nursing diagnoses.
• Individual nurses' scope does not extend to community health assessments.