Concept Development of Nursing Information

This article proposes a definition of nursing information. Nurses use information to plan, implement, and evaluate patient care. They seek information from colleagues, books, electronic sources, and equipment, and give information to multiple audiences. Even with the pervasiveness of information in nursing practice, there has been little research aimed at developing a definition of nursing information. This study was undertaken to start filling that gap. The Hybrid Model of Concept Development served as the study design. This model consists of three phases: theoretical, fieldwork, and final analytical. In the theoretical phase, a working definition of nursing information was developed. The fieldwork phase involved observations and interviews of 13 expert nurses working in a critical care unit. The qualitative data obtained from the fieldwork phase were analyzed to refine and extend the working definition. Previously identified categories in the definition--context, form, communication, and value--were validated in the analysis. New categories--multidimensionality, intervening/doing, and power--emerged during the final analytical phase, and the definition was revised to include this new knowledge. The utility of the definition of nursing information and its impact on nursing practice, information technology, and theory development is discussed.