Susan J. Grobe

A Description of Think Aloud Method and Protocol Analysis

Think Aloud (TA) studies provide rich verbal data about reasoning during a problem solving task. Using TA and protocol analysis, investigators can identify the information that is concentrated on during problem solving and how that information is used to facilitate problem resolution. From this, inferences can be made about the reasoning processes that were used during the problem-solving task. In the past, the validity of data obtained from TA studies has been suspect because of inconsistencies in data collection and the inability to verify findings obtained from the slow, laborious process of protocol analysis. This article describes a means of obtaining more accurate verbal data and analyzing it in a standardized step-by-step manner.

Describing the work of nursing: The case of postsurgical nursing interventions for men with prostate cancer

Nursing interventions were provided to older men following prostate surgery during a controlled clinical trial examining nursing care and its effects on quality of life outcomes. The Nursing Intervention Lexicon and Taxonomy (NILT), consisting of 7 categories of nursing interventions, was used to classify intervention statements extracted from 32 home care records. Two major categories of interventions were patient teaching (45%) and psychologically based interventions (20%). In a comparison of the types of interventions provided upon discharge from the hospital with those provided at the end of 1 month of home care, it appeared that patients had not yet shifted from the crisis to the chronic phase of their illness course based on Rollands framework.

Maintenance of skin integrity as a clinical indicator of nursing care.

OBJECTIVE: To assess maintenance of skin integrity in hospitalized patients as a clinical indicator of quality nursing care. DESIGN: Descriptive correlational study. SETTING: 17 acute care urban and rural hospitals in Texas. PARTICIPANTS: 723 hospitalized patients from 33 medical-surgical units. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pressure ulcers since admission and nursing care practices per unit. MAIN RESULTS: Overall prevalence of pressure ulcers since admission (4.7%) was lower than previously reported for acute care settings. Prevalence of pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients (10%) was higher than found in the Texas Nurses Association feasibility study (3.7%). The skin integrity ratio was strongly correlated for several unit variables, including number of beds per unit (r = 0.623) and average daily census per unit (r = 0.909). Benchmarking data across units showed that units with subjects that maintained skin integrity had a lower percentage of patients assessed on admission and performed daily assessments less frequently than did the units with subjects that did not maintain skin integrity. In addition, the units with subjects that maintained skin integrity classified fewer patients as at risk for pressure ulcer development and did not implement a skin care protocol for these patients. CONCLUSION: Patients who developed a pressure ulcer after admission were older and had more risk for pressure ulcers than those who maintained skin integrity. Benchmarking data detected various differences in nursing care. Significant relationships between study variables demonstrate the importance of assessing clinical indicators to monitor nursing care. Outcomes such as skin integrity, pressure ulcer since admission, and nosocomial ratio represent the quality of nursing care.

Describing an episode of home Nursing care for elderly postsurgical cancer patients

BackgroundWhile studies have documented the beneficial effect of home care for cancer patients, the actual interventions implemented during these studies have not been well described. ObjectivesPurposes of this study were to analyze interventions documented in narrative form by advanced practice nurses during a four-week episode of home care and describe intervention type, frequency, range, and variation over time in intervention emphasis and dose intensity. MethodsChart audits were performed on records kept for 148 postsurgical cancer patients who were assigned to the experimental group in a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effect of home care on quality of life outcomes (McCorkle et al., 2000). Interventions statements (N = 7,275) were analyzed using Grobe’s (1996) Nursing Intervention Lexicon and Taxonomy. ResultsTeaching accounted for the highest percentage of interventions documented, followed by provision of psychological support and reassurance, determination of patient needs and nursing care requirements, assessment of current status, and indirect care. Physical care and actions to promote self-care independence were documented least frequently. Differences in nursing care were found by cancer site with the greatest diversity of interventions documented for breast cancer patients. Intervention emphasis and dose intensity varied over time, suggesting that these nurses altered their care in response to the changing needs of their patients. ConclusionsThese nurses responded to complex problems and used a variety of interventions to assist patients and families in management of the illness experience. They also tailored their care to each patient’s location along the illness trajectory. These findings provide beginning support for the clinical utility of Nursing Intervention Lexicon and Taxonomy as a way to quantify an episode of nursing care.

The Construct of Thriving in Pregnancy and Postpartum

This article explores the construct of thriving as an integration of nutritional (manifested in weight), psychosocial, and lifestyle concerns of childbearing within the context of Orem’s self-care deficit theory. Provisional definitions of thriving in pregnancy and postpartum are proposed. Preliminary dimensions of thriving in postpartum are based on factor analysis of weight, lifestyle, and psychosocial data from 145 women after childbirth. Four dimensions emerged: psychosocial distress, lifestyle patterns, a weight factor, and a body image factor. Although the dimensionality of postpartal thriving reported is preliminary, it provides a beginning foundation for assessment and intervention for postpartal women.

Modeling nursing interventions in the act class of HL7 RIM Version 3

The proposed Health Level 7 Reference Information Model (HL7 RIM) Version 3 is the foundation for expressing data to be communicated across health care information systems. The general objective of this analysis was to examine whether the RIM supports the expression of nursing interventions, considering both terminological and structural perspectives. The Nursing Terminology Summit Interventions Group focused on patient education about breast cancer, an intervention that differs sufficiently from other medical processes already considered by HL7 and represents issues surrounding both definition and execution of nursing process. Relevant actors, actions, and action relationships were culled from use cases and modeled into the proposed RIM structure and attributes by using modified instance diagrams. This method was effective and reproducible, and the RIM proved to be an adequate model for supporting breast cancer education. Additional interventions must be studied to fully assess the adequacy of the model to support all aspects of nursing process and terminology.

Casting light on the concept of patient satisfaction by studying the construct validity and the sensitivity of a questionnaire

PURPOSE This study aims to explore the construct validity and the sensitivity of a patient satisfaction questionnaire for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the concept, and of issues surrounding its measurements. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Several statistical analyses were used to study the reliability, construct validity, and the sensitivity of a patient satisfaction questionnaire. FINDINGS The study supported the construct validity, high internal consistency, and homogeneity of the instrument. Two factors were found; one consisted of negatively worded items and the other of positively worded items. The negatively worded items contributed more than the positively worded items to the sensitivity of the instrument. Items were identified that contribute little or nothing to the construct validity and/or the sensitivity of the questionnaire. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS The effect of wording on the variability and sensitivity of the instrument can be explained both as a consequence of response set bias and with regard to the theories against which two phenomena were being measured - patient satisfaction and patient dissatisfaction. The development of two kinds of instruments is proposed: those that measure patient dissatisfaction and are sensitive to minute changes in nursing care and those that measure both concepts and capture what patients find important in their care. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The paper demonstrates how an analysis of the construct validity and the sensitivity of patient satisfaction instrument, can enhance understanding of the concept. It contributes to the debate about whether patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction are opposite ends of the same continuum or two different phenomena that require two different definitions.