Challenges to sustainability of standardized nursing care plan in selected tertiary health institutions in Nigeria

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to assess the challenges to sustainability of standardized nursing care plan in selected tertiary health institutions in Nigeria. METHODS Using convergent mixed method design, the qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 427 nurses and nine stakeholders. This was done in one phase with the use of validated questionnaires and in-depth interview guide/key informant interview guide. Data were collected for 5 months and analyzed with SPSS version 25. Qualitative data were analyzed using themes. RESULTS The explored significant challenges by stakeholders and nurses to sustainability of standardized nursing care plan (SNCP) in all the selected hospitals were inadequate knowledge of standardized nursing languages (SNLs), inadequate staffing, lack of motivation, lack of mandate to use SNLs by the educational system, lack of computers on the wards, weakness of previous training on SNL/SNCP, lack of interest, and high patient load. CONCLUSION The study concludes that inadequate knowledge of SNLs and inadequate staff could contribute to non sustainability of SNCP. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE Nurses should be continuously trained on standardized nursing languages. Staff motivation and increasing the number of staff on the wards would increase the interest of the nursing staff. This will in turn improve the quality of documentation and patient care.