Classification Systems for Health Concerns, Nursing Strategies, and Client Outcomes: Nursing Practice with Families Who Have a Child with a Chronic Illness

Abstract

This paper describes 3 classification systems developed from a study of the effectiveness of a nursing intervention in improving the psychosocial adjustment of children with a chronic illness. The study nurses' documentation of the nursing care provided to the 163 participating families was content analyzed. Systems were developed to classify the types of: (a) health concerns or issues that were the focus of the nursing, (b) actions the nurses used to help families achieve their goals, and (c) outcomes observed by the nurses. These classification systems have furthered our understanding of the McGill Model of Nursing, and they describe the scope of nursing practice based on this nursing perspective with a particular population (families who have a child with a chronic illness). These systems could be used to describe and measure nursing practice with this and other groups of clients.