Integrative literature review: the initial step in the validation process of nursing diagnoses

Making nursing diagnoses is the second step of the nursing process. It is a source of nursing knowledge and essential for the planning and implementing of effective nursing interventions that promote quality nursing care. Integrative literature review is a research method that allows for gathering and synthesizing available evidence about a topic. Thus, the purpose of this review was to argue that integrative literature review is the initial step in the nursing diagnoses validation process. Important aspects in conducting integrative literature reviews are presented through an example, including their contributions to refine and validate nursing diagnoses proposed by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association International's (NANDA-1) Taxonomy II, which can guide the planning and implementation of quality nursing.