The Nursing Diagnoses and Length of Stay Among Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: A Retrospective Study
A Retrospective Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48079/jika.v9i2.213Keywords:
length of stay; nursing diagnosis; nursing documentation; pediatric nursing; standardized terminology.Abstract
Background: Nursing diagnoses reflect patients’ clinical needs and may indicate the complexity of pediatric care during hospitalization. However, evidence regarding patterns of nursing diagnoses, terminology consistency, and their association with length of stay (LOS) remains limited.
Objectives: To describe nursing diagnoses documented among hospitalized pediatric patients and examine differences in LOS according to patient and nursing diagnosis characteristics.
Methods: This descriptive retrospective study analyzed medical records of 186 pediatric patients. The Indonesian Nursing Diagnosis Standards (SDKI) was used to classify clinically equivalent diagnostic terminology. Categorical data were summarized using frequencies and percentages, while LOS was presented as the median and interquartile range (IQR) because of its non-normal distribution. Bivariate analyses used Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests.
Results: Acute pain (14.0%), ineffective airway clearance (10.8%), and ineffective breathing pattern (9.1%) were the most frequently documented nursing diagnoses. Standardized terminology was consistently documented in 31.7% of records. LOS differed significantly by age group (p=0.018), sex (p=0.046), care unit (p<0.001), and number of nursing diagnoses (p=0.025), but not by terminology consistency (p=0.259).
Conclusion: LOS varied according to patient characteristics, care unit, and the number of documented nursing diagnoses, whereas terminology consistency was not associated with LOS. The substantial terminology inconsistency highlights the need to strengthen standardized terminology and pediatric nursing documentation.
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