Cross-mapping the ICNP® terms in the nursing of patients with chronic heart failure. Part 1 — the patient’s somatic problems

Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome resulting from abnormalities in the structure and function of the heart. In Poland, there are about 1 million people with diagnosed HF, and it is estimated that in the next 2 decades this number will increase by 25%. Heart failure is the cause of high mortality and hospitalization among people over 65 years old, as well as the disease-related medical costs and the inability to work. The aim of this article is to present the possibility of replacing the traditional diagnoses (regarding the somatic symptoms) and nursing actions by the ICNP® phrases in the nursing of patients with heart failure. In this paper, a method of the analysis and critique of Polish literature from the last decade that included the aspects of the nursing care of patients with heart failure was used. Then the cross-mapping process of the most common nursing problems in patients and nursing actions with the phrases describing the diagnoses, results and interventions of the ICNP® was conducted. The current version of the ICNP® allows to replace the “traditional” expressions describing nursing diagnoses and actions taken towards the patients with heart failure by phrases describing the ICNP® diagnoses and interventions.

Nursing Topics 2015; 23 (1): 104–109