Nurses' intervention goal categories for persons with spinal cord injury based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: an international Delphi survey.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health can be used as standard language to express intervention goals on the part of nurses caring for persons with spinal cord injury.


BACKGROUND
This classification is multipurpose and is designed to organize a wide range of health-related information that can be used in any healthcare context and especially by interdisciplinary teams.


METHODS
A three-round, consensus-building, electronic-mail survey using the Delphi technique.


METHODS
In the Delphi process spinal cord injury nurses were asked to name the problems, resources, and aspects of the environment that they address when treating patients with spinal cord injury. The answers were linked to the categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The study was carried out in 2007.


RESULTS
Nurses (N = 35) from 17 countries provided 823 answers that were linked to a set of 143 categories, 24 personal factors, and 51 concepts categorized as 'Not-covered', of which 32 were areas of fundamental importance to nurses. These were mainly risks that persons with spinal cord injury may face, such as the risk for future impairments.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of the data set resulting from this study should help determine and document the needs that pertain to spinal cord injury nursing on an international level. Future research should confirm the usefulness of such a data set in clinical practice and can contribute to the update process of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.
Department of Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Munich, Germany; Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland.
Christine
C
Boldt
Inge-Marie
IM
Velstra
Mirjam
M
Brach
Elisabeth
E
Linseisen
Alarcos
A
Cieza
D003697:Delphi Technique; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D009740:Nursing Staff; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology