Construction and validation of nursing diagnoses for premature newborns

OBJECTIVE: To build and validate nursing diagnoses based on the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP(®)) for premature newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. METHOD: Methodological study based on the Brazilian method for developing subsets: use of specialized nursing language terms, construction of diagnostic statements and content validation of the statements by 40 specialist nurses. Those with a Content Validity Index (CVI) ≥ 0.80, organized according to Wanda Horta’s basic human needs theory, were considered valid. RESULTS: 146 nursing diagnosis statements were constructed and 145 (93.3%) diagnoses were validated, with a predominance of the human need for cutaneous-mucosal integrity. CONCLUSION: The specificity of neonatal care is evident when these diagnoses are presented and validated in order to support nurses in their clinical reasoning and decision-making.