Search

The use of standardized nursing languages helps nurses understand patients' needs with precision and speed. This study assessed the knowledge of standardized nursing languages (SNL); how nurses perceive SNL and nurses utilization of SNL. The study adopted a cross sectional research design. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using 5-sectioned self-structured questionnaires whose validity and reliability had been previously ascertained. Data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results showed that majority of the nurses that participated in the study are female (83.8%). Only 60.0% of the nurses know the number of steps in nursing process while very few (5.4%) can correctly define what SNLs is. Knowledge of SNLs shows that 26.2% have high knowledge; 44.6% moderate knowledge while 29.2% had low knowledge. Utilization of SNL by nurses showed that Majority (83.8%) of the nurses in the study agreed that utilization of SNL help nurses to deliver quality nursing care; 67.7% of nurses agreed that the use of SNL makes nursing practice unique, 55.4% opined that the use of SNL can be cumbersome while only 24.6% often use nursing process for patients' care. Although, participants in this study agreed that the use of SNL is crucial to quality nursing care, with poor utilization., (© 2018 NANDA International, Inc.)