Structural validity of nursing diagnosis insomnia in older adults of a community center

Insomnia is an important sleep disorder in older persons. Conceptual analysis studies on this nursing diagnosis have been developed, but the diagnostic accuracy has not been verified. This study aimed to verify the diagnostic accuracy of the nursing diagnosis of Insomnia (00095) in older adults in a community center in Brazil.

A validation study for diagnostic accuracy of the defining characteristics of the nursing diagnosis Insomnia. Data were collected through telephone interviews with 90 participants. Latent class analysis was used to verify the sensitivity and specificity of the defining characteristics. Poisson regression was used to assess the prevalence of the association of factors related to the nursing diagnosis of insomnia.

A 47.42% prevalence of insomnia in the sample was identified. Defining characteristics such as expresses dissatisfaction with sleep and nonrestorative sleep-wake cycle showed the best accuracy values for insomnia, with a specificity of 0.92 (0.78-1.00) and 0.89 (0.74-1.00), respectively. Related factors such as stressors and frequent naps during the day were more likely to develop insomnia in individuals.

This study indicates diagnostic accuracy of nursing diagnosis of insomnia in community-dwelling older people from a community center. The findings highlighted the importance of the defining characteristics of nursing diagnosis insomnia and its main related factors contributing to accurate diagnostic identification.

This study can contribute to providing objective clinical indicators of insomnia in the older population to guide nurses in early diagnostic confirmation for the selection of health interventions. In addition, it can be a consistent contribution to theoretical and conceptual reviews of this diagnosis.