Consensual validation of the nursing diagnoses fear and anxiety identified at the immediate preoperative period in patients undergoing elective surgery.

摘要

PURPOSE: To identify the most frequent defining characteristics (DCs) for the diagnoses fear and anxiety in Brazilian patients in the immediate preoperative period following elective cardiac surgery; to develop conceptual and operational definitions for the DCs; to develop consensual validation. METHODS: Clinical and observational, descriptive study developed in two phases. FINDINGS: Forty DCs were identified for fear and 19 for anxiety. One expert judged it necessary to include "altered bowel motility" as a DC for fear. There was 100% agreement among the five experts in relation to the DCs. CONCLUSIONS: To add "altered bowel motility" to the DCs for the nursing diagnosis fear. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: To enable nurses to more accurately assess patients for these diagnoses.