Nurses use of health status data to plan for patient care: implications for the development of a computer-based outcomes infrastructure.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the patient's health status at hospital admission and the initial care planned by the nurse. Functional status, engagement in care, and psychosocial well-being were measured by the Health Status Outcome Dimensions(HSOD) instrument. The HSOD is the foundation for developing a computer-based infrastructure for the analysis of health related outcomes. The consecutive, convenience sample of 308 subjects was drawn from five acute clinical populations: pulmonary; cerebrovascular, cardiac; gastrointestinal; and infection. Logistic and multiple regression analyses were used to test the relationships between control (patient and setting) variables, health status, and the dependent variables of type of problem identified, number of problems identified, and the time required to implement interventions ordered for the patient. In seven of ten models, control variables of facility, age, and/or severity of illness contributed to a model at p < .01. In six of ten models, at least one health status measure significantly explained variation beyond the control variables, at p < .01. Study results support using data gathered during the course of care, to evaluate the process of that care. Further work is needed to understand the effects of setting and provider variables on the use of health status data in care planning. Computer-based outcomes infrastructures are essential to support the collection and analysis of health status over time.