Summary
Objective: Nursing Minimum Data Sets can be used to compare nursing care across clinical populations,
settings, geographical areas, and time. NMDS can support nursing research, nursing
management, and nursing politics. However, in contrast to other countries, Austria
does not have a unified NMDS. The objective of this study is to identify possible
data elements for an Austrian NMDS.
Methods: A two-round Delphi survey was conducted, based on a review of available NMDS, 22
expert interviews, and a focus group discussion.
Results: After reaching consensus, the experts proposed the following 56 data elements for
an NMDS: six data elements concerning patient demographics, four data elements concerning
data of the healthcare institution, four data elements concerning patient’s medical
condition, 20 data elements concerning patient problems (nursing assessment, nursing
diagnoses, risk assessment), eight data elements concerning nursing outcomes, 14 data
elements concerning nursing interventions, and no additional data elements concerning
nursing intensity.
Conclusion: The proposed NMDS focuses on the long-term and acute care setting. It must now be
implemented and tested in the nursing practice.
Citation: Ranegger R, Hackl WO, Ammenwerth E. A proposal for an austrian nursing minimum data
set (NMDS): A Delphi study. Appl Clin Inf 2014; 5: 538–547 http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2014-04-RA-0027
Keywords
Nursing minimum data set - minimal data set - nursing informatics - health statistics
- Austria