Study design and sample
The data collection was conducted by psychiatric nurses
on the basis of interviews with schizophrenia patients in
Taiwan. The interview was part of their regular nursing care
independent of the day of the patients’ admission to the ward.
Assessments were made of 54 patients with schizophrenia
(aged 43Æ02 ± 9Æ73, range 26–63 years); most of whom were
men (53Æ7%) and who had average institutionalisation of
28Æ8 ± 1Æ9 years. The psychiatric nurses wrote down the
nursing process record of this interview. The records
contained admission notes, the chief complaints of disease
and the signs and symptoms of patients. A nursing diagnosis
is based on contributing factors as evidenced by the patients’
sign and symptoms or defining characteristics (Carpenito
1997). In this study, nurses were provided with NANDA
guidelines for psychiatric nursing diagnoses, but we ensured
that there was no communication between the nurses
involved regarding assessment results. The average of the
14 nurses was 29Æ86 (SD 9Æ52) years and all were women.
Additionally, most had college education (78Æ57%) and were
unmarried (64Æ29%). Their mean duration of employment
was 4Æ07 (SD 3Æ20) years.
Nurses who interviewed th