Nursing diagnosis from narratives of people living with HIV/AIDS in Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

Objective: to identify and analyze the most frequent Nursing diagnoses of people living with HIV/aids in outpatient care in Guinea-Bissau through their narratives. Method: this is a secondary analysis of data from a study with a qualitative approach whose participants were sixteen people living with HIV/aids. To identify the Nursing diagnoses, the Diagnostic Process was used, which is a complex intellectual process in the application of Critical Thinking. Findings: there were sixteen participants, twelve were female, and the median age was 33.5 years old. From the participants' narratives, 26 different Nursing diagnoses were identified. Of these, 10 had a frequency equal to or greater than 10%. The 10 most frequently identified diagnoses belong to the following Domains: Self-perception, Coping/stress tolerance, Health Promotion, Comfort, Perception/cognition and Role relationship. Although the diagnoses identified with the most positive meaning appeared in 50% of the participants (Readiness for enhanced self-concept and Readiness for enhanced health management), the narratives also indicated that the process of living with HIV/aids has been quite challenging for the Guineans participating in the study, with presence of the Risk for compromised human dignity (50% of the participants) and Impaired resilience (43.7% of the participants) diagnoses. Conclusions: the more frequent Nursing diagnoses of people living with HIV/aids that participate in this study were Readiness for enhanced self-concept, Risk for compromised human dignity and Readiness for enhanced health self-management. Implications for the Nursing practice: in Nursing care, the full implementation of the Nursing Process is fundamental since, in this way, provision of care not only occurs in the biological sphere but also in the promotion of care that meets the patients' needs, aiming for more dignity, citizenship and quality of life.