Documented Nursing Interventions in Inpatient Psychiatry

PURPOSE: This study explored how well the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) covers adult inpatient psychiatric care. METHODS: By systematic analyses and a mapping approach, documented nursing interventions were assessed on concurrencies with the NIC. FINDINGS: From 2,153 intervention descriptions in nursing notes, 1,924 were recognizable as NIC interventions, and 229 did not match the NIC. 89.4% of all identified descriptions of interventions were recognizable as NIC interventions on the level of definition. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the NIC describes adult inpatient psychiatric care to a large extent. Nevertheless, further development of the classification is important. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The study results provide a basis for further developing the NIC and to reinforce its use in inpatient psychiatric settings.