Abstract
Purpose: As part of a larger multinational validation study of the International
Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP“) alpha version, a survey was conducted in
Japan to determine characteristics of ‘fever’ and interventions to treat febrile patients.
Sample: Three hundred and fifty-six acute and critical care Japanese nurses
participated in this study. Method: The major and minor characteristics of ‘fever’
perceived by Japanese nurses and interventions used by the nurses in managing febrile
patients were identified using the Diagnostic Content Validity (DCV) model.
Results: Two characteristics, ‘increased body temperature’ and ‘chills’ were selected as
major characteristics from the standardized list of the ICNP“ alpha version validation
study. Nine characteristics among the standardized list of characteristics were rated as
minor characteristics, and six of the ICNP“ characteristics were rejected. ‘Shivering’
and ‘infectious lab data’ were added with a level of representativeness similar to a major
characteristic by nine of the nurses. A variety of interventions to treat fever were
reported. The most frequently reported intervention was cooling, followed by
warming and medication. Nine dimensions were derived from all reported
interventions. Discussion: As well as perceived characteristics of fever, these
interventions may have aspects unique to Japanese nursing practice and to the acute
and critical care settings. These results can be compared to those of other populations
in future studies.