Purpose: To clarify actual nursing diagnoses for and interventions given to patients with end-stage breast cancer admitted for different care purposes.
Methods: Nursing diagnoses, defining characteristics, related/risk factors, and nursing interventions were analyzed in a convenience sample of 150 patient records.
Findings: A total of 539 nursing diagnoses (96 labels) were documented. Frequently listed diagnoses were chronic pain, risk for infection, and activity intolerance. The most frequently used nursing diagnosis for the chemotherapy group was risk for infection. The nurses in this study rarely report any diagnoses related to death and dying.
Conclusions: Nursing diagnoses and interventions differed depending on the purpose of admission.
Practice implications: Oncology nurses need to consider the reasons for admission when making nursing diagnoses and interventions for patients with end-stage breast cancer.