NURSES' DECISIONS IN DIALYSIS PATIENT CARE: AN APPLICATION OF THE ROY ADAPTATION MODEL.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 136
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Nursing professionals should care for the person as a whole human being, that is, be concerned with the person's physical and psycho-social well-being. The purpose of this study was to describe the decisions made by nurses regarding the selection of patients' problems amenable to nursing intervention and nursing actions in caring for patients with end-stage renal disease. From this purpose, two objectives were derived: (a) to identify the patients' problems, according to the Roy adaptation model, that nurses judge relevant for nursing intervention; and (b) to identify the kind of nursing actions that nurses choose as the best alternatives for solving or relieving each selected problem. The conceptual framework of this study was derived from the Roy adaptation model and decision-making theory.

The sample consisted of 46 nurses who worked in 21 dialysis units in the state of Alabama. The research instrument was constructed by this investigator and was mailed to the sample. The instrument consisted of six demographic items, eight simulated patient situations, and alternative items following each simulated situation. The test-retest and the Kuder-Richardson test were performed to measure the reliability of the instrument. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and chi-square tests.

Neither the nurses' level of education nor their years of experience in patient care were related to the number of patient problems selected as amenable to nursing intervention in each mode of adaptation. The nurses level of education was found to be significantly related to the number of nursing actions selected for solving problems across all four modes of Roy adaptation model.

Most nurses selected a combination of dependent and independent actions for solving problems associated with the physiologic mode of adaptation while for the self-concept, role function, and interdependence modes the majority of nurses selected a combination of dependent, independent, and interdependent actions. Further studies should be conducted in multiple clinical areas: (a) to examine whether nurses are concerned with patient's problems related to all four modes of Roy adaptation model, and (b) also to examine the degree of autonomy that nurses have in planning interventions for solving patients' problems.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-02, Section: B, page: 0575.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1985.

School code: 0005.