Читать книгу Nursing and Health Interventions - Souraya Sidani - Страница 48

Indicators reflect how the problem is manifested. They are the particular alterations or changes in structure or function that point to the presence of the problem. The indicators may be objectively observed (i.e. signs) or subjectively reported (i.e. symptoms). For example, difficulty initiating sleep (i.e. falling asleep) and maintaining sleep (i.e. staying asleep) are two indicators of insomnia. It is important to note that the experience of the indicators may vary within and across client populations. The variation may be associated with different client characteristics such as age, gender, and culture. For example, the indicators of insomnia vary with age: Middle‐aged persons frequently report experiencing difficulty falling asleep, whereas older persons frequently report difficulty staying asleep (Sidani et al., 2018a).

The identification of the indicators can be supplemented by the specification of the level at which they are experienced in order to operationally define the health problem. Level of experiencing the indicators is reflected in a range of values or cutoff scores that should be observed or reported to indicate the presence of the problem. For example, difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep may be experienced by anyone, under a wide range of circumstances (e.g. clients may not sleep well a few days before surgery). To indicate the presence of insomnia, these sleep difficulties or disturbances should occur for 30 minutes or more per night, over at least three nights per week.