Identifying and prioritizing topics for evidence-based geriatric nursing practice guidelines in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing population of elderly individuals in Korea, there are no evidence-based geriatric nursing practice guidelines.

AIM: This study aimed to identify and prioritize topics related to the development of evidence-based geriatric nursing practice guidelines in long-term care facilities in Korea.

METHODS: To identify potential topics, 89 nurses responded to a questionnaire on activities that require further evidence and/or standardization in the long-term care facility setting. To prioritize these topics, 14 geriatric nursing experts completed surveys to prioritize five categories.

RESULTS: The collected data included 240 clinical topics, which were classified into 41 subcategories and 18 main categories. According to topic prioritization by the geriatric nursing experts, the following were the most heavily weighted categories: fall prevention, position change and prevention of pressure ulcers.

CONCLUSIONS: The development of standardized guidelines based on these results may help improve the quality of geriatric care and quality of life of older individuals. The small number of respondents may be a limitation of this study, and further study is needed to expand the population.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: The development of evidence-based nursing guidelines based on the present findings will help improve the quality of nursing in long-term care facilities. Additionally, health policies and systems, such as introduction of a fee for nursing services for older individuals based on the evidence, are worth considering.