Nursing Diagnosis of Grieving: Content Validity in Perinatal Loss Situations

PURPOSE: To validate the content of the NANDA-I nursing diagnosis of grieving in situations of perinatal loss. METHODS: Using the Fehring's model, 208 Spanish experts were asked to assess the adequacy of the defining characteristics and other manifestations identified in the literature for cases of perinatal loss. FINDINGS: The content validity index was 0.867. Twelve of the 18 defining characteristics were validated, seven as major and five as minor. From the manifestations proposed, "empty inside" was considered as major. CONCLUSION: The nursing diagnosis of grieving fits in content to the cases of perinatal loss according to experts. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The results have provided evidence to support the use of the diagnosis in care plans for said clinical situation.