Comparison of perceived general health status between suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 and identifying the nursing diagnoses: A cross-sectional study.
Hui-Chen Rita Chang, Mu-Hsing Ho, Wei Qing Zhang and 3 others
PMID 36271502WHAT IT FOUND
Confirmed patients reported better perceived general health than suspected patients, while suspected patients had more recorded nursing problems such as airway clearance, fever, sleep and nutrition issues.
Key findings
01Confirmed patients reported good perceived general health more often than suspected patients (98.0% vs 64.6%).
02Suspected patients had more recorded ineffective airway clearance than confirmed patients (85.9% vs 47.1%).
03Fever, imbalanced nutrition less than body requirements and sleep pattern disturbance also differed significantly between confirmed and suspected patients.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The perceived health measure was one unvalidated yes/no question, so the group difference may be unstable. The study included only patients from one infectious disease ward in Wuhan, China, so results may not apply to other settings or later pandemic phases. The design compares groups at one time, so it cannot show that confirmed or suspected status caused differences in nursing diagnoses. Convenience sampling was used, so the patients may not represent all hospitalized coronavirus cases.
Declared interests
The authors report no specific grant and no conflicts, but the funding line names Zhengzhou University.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that confirmed coronavirus patients have fewer nursing problems because they reported better perceived health. The study is cross-sectional, the health item was unvalidated, and several nursing diagnoses were more frequent in suspected patients.