[Evaluation of electronic nursing process documentation in the acute inpatient setting: A mixed methods convergent...

Evaluation of electronic nursing process documentation in the acute inpatient setting: A mixed methods convergent parallel design Abstract: Background: To identify potential improvements in the quality of nursing process documentation, it is essential to record the baseline situation, considering the perspectives of the nursing staff. Aims: The study aimed to evaluate electronic nursing process documentation in an acute inpatient setting, taking into account the views of nursing staff. Methods: A mixed-methods convergent parallel design was applied. In the quantitative part of the study, an extended Q-DIO (Quality of Nursing Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes) document analysis (n = 30) was conducted and analyzed descriptively. In the qualitative part, semi-structured expert interviews (n = 6) were conducted and analyzed using structured content analysis. Quantitative and qualitative results were then combined based on the phases of the nursing process and compared for convergence and divergence. Results: The results for the aspects of nursing assessment, nursing diagnoses and nursing goals revealed divergence. For instance, the quantitative data indicated good quality in nursing diagnoses, whereas nurses expressed differing views on the necessity of documenting these diagnoses. Convergences were observed in the planning and implementation of nursing interventions, as well as in nursing evaluation. Conclusions: The evaluation revealed potential for optimization. When implementing the recommendations, human, technical and organizational factors must be considered, as they are interdependent.