The Effect of a Change Intervention Within the Framework of Organization Development on the Frequency of Use of Nursing Diagnosis

Abstract

Although 64% of the 32 registered nurses who comprised the staff of a pediatric unit had been formally educated in the use of nursing diagnosis, only 27.4% of individualized additions to the nursing care plans were accepted nursing diagnoses. An intervention based on Change Theory as incorporated in an Organization Development framework was initiated to increase the addition of accepted nursing diagnoses to the standard nursing care pla ns. The effect of the process was followed through the audit of 229 nursing care plans over a thirteen month period using a time s e r i e s design. Following the intervention , 74.4% of individualized entries to the standard nursing care plans were accepted nursing diagnoses, representing a 171.5% increase. The findings objective demonstrate that an intervention based on Change Theory as incorporated in an Organization Development framework was an effective method of increasing the use of nursing diagnosis in the study population.