Facilitating the Nursing Process for the Nursing Diagnosis "Alteration in Thought Processes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if nurses who were given a tool to facilitate assessment of thought processes would collect more assessment data, diagnose "alteration in thought processes" more frequently, and include a care plan for this diagnosis more often. A quasi-experimental pre-treatment/post-treatment design was used. An inservice program about the Level of Cognitive Function Scale (LOCF) was the treatment. Of the 40 randomly selected subjects from the 199 adult critical care nurses at a metropolitan hospital, 20 completed the study with pre-treatment and post-treatment data. Data were collected by scoring patient assessment/care plans pre-treatment and 4 weeks post-treatment. A demographic survey and Likert scale questionnaire were used to obtain other findings of interest. Data analysis with paired t-tests revealed a significant increase in assessment, diagnosis and care plans after instruction in the LOCF scale.