Objective

To analyze the content of the diagnostic proposal, risk for impaired cardiovascular function, focusing on incarcerated women.

Methods

A methodological study of nursing diagnosis content validation carried out from December/2018 to June/2019. A sample of 24 judges evaluated the proposed definition and the relevance of the proposed etiological factors of risk for impaired cardiovascular function. To determine the content validity of the etiological factors, the Content Validity Index was calculated and a value of 0.9 was adopted, in addition to the Wilcoxon test.

Results

The diagnostic definition was considered consistent with the diagnostic label. All 18 etiological factors were validated with a Content Validity Index statistically >0.9 and categorized into risk factors, associated conditions, and at-risk populations.

Conclusion

The definition and 18 etiological factors of risk for impaired cardiovascular function were validated.

Implications for the nursing practice

The study allowed the new proposal for the risk for impaired cardiovascular function nursing diagnosis to be accepted to return to the taxonomy of NANDA International with an expanded and more consistent structure. The return of the referred nursing diagnosis to the taxonomy favors the nurse's diagnostic reasoning and the documentation of all nursing actions, linked to this diagnosis, which are aimed at minimizing cardiovascular risk.