ISSUES IN THE INTEGRATION OF STANDARDIZED NURSING LANGUAGE FOR POPULATIONS - A STUDY OF DRUG-EXPOSED INFANTS RECORDS

This study investigates nursing documentation thereby illustrating iss ues in the integration of standardized nursing language for vulnerable populations. The records of 145 drug-exposed infants referred to a VN A for home care services from 1988-94 were reviewed to determine the m ost frequent nursing problem statements, interventions, and outcomes. When adjustments were made using key words, the most frequent nursing problem statements involved ''caretaking/parenting.'' Intervention lan guage did not describe nursing actions which could be linked to standa rd language, even by key words. Outcomes did not appear to be attribut able to nursing interventions. The discussion section considers issues which must be resolved before standardized labels can ethically be ap plied to populations.