Developing outcomes for community nursing: the Nominal Group Technique.

Abstract

The focus of healthcare has shifted from examining the process (what is done) to measuring what is achieved (outcomes). While various tools have been developed to measure inpatient outcomes, there is no specific measure of outcomes for community-based care. A collaborative research project involving the University of Wollongong and the Illawarra Area Health Service has been established to address the gap in patient reporting and evaluation. This paper describes the initial phase of a research project using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to develop outcome measures appropriate to community health. The NGT is a technique that uses groups of stake holders to obtain information. Nominal groups are unlike focus groups in that NGT seek responses to predetermined and structured questions. Other aspects of outcome measurement, such as casenote audits and addressing the client's perspective are being considered later in the project. This paper focuses largely upon the process of using the NGT to develop outcomes and to encourage the participation in the research project by community nurses. It was vital from the outset to generate a sense of ownership of both the process and the findings and the NGT was seen as a process that would enable both the development of outcome statements and active participation.