| dc.description.abstract | Force fluids is a commonly used term in nursing and a required nursing intervention for multiple clients. Yet, it lacks an operational definition. The purpose of this study was to operationally define the concept 'force fluids'. A three phase survey method was used. In Phase I, two National League of Nursing accredited schools were chosen randomly for each state and Washington, D.C. In Phase II, the Object Content Test (OCT) and a demographic data sheet were sent to the 102 undergraduate medical-surgical coordinators of the schools chosen. The two instruments were returned by 98 of the coordinators. Data were analyzed using the process of content analysis. The responses were clustered into 5 categories: antecedent conditions, assessment factors, operational definitions, plan of actions, and outcome criteria. Three nurse experts validated the assignment of responses to the categories. Major findings from this phase were: a) responses ranged from extremely vague to those that defined the concept in operational terms, b) the majority of the responses related to assessment factors and nursing actions, "c) some responses contained inaccurate information, d) only 16 appropriate statements that fit the criteria for an operational definition were documented, and e) the responses were substantial enough to write a beginning conceptual framework for the concept. ii Phase III was designed to arrive at a consensus about the responses assigned to the categories. A selected category sheet designed from the responses was sent to the 98 subjects who had participated in Phase II. The participants were asked to check the responses they believed were most appropriate for each part of the conceptual framework. Appropriate factors checked most frequent 1 y plus additional factors from the literature were used to write a refined conceptual framework for the concept. Overall, the study revealed the fact that this concept was well established in nursing, and used as a nursing care intervention without a set of parameters to measure the outcome. Establishing a set of defined measurable parameters through a schematic diagram and a conceptual framework for the concept will provide consistency in use of this term. | en_US |
