integrity
[in-teg´rĭ-te] 1. soundness; freedom from serious flaws or impediments.
2. in bioethics, a virtue consisting of soundness of and adherence to moral principles and character and standing up in their defense when they are threatened or under attack. This involves consistent, habitual honesty and a coherent integration of reasonably stable, justifiable moral values, with consistent judgment and action over time. Some ethicists feel that integrity is the first or primary virtue.
impaired skin integrity a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as alteration in the epidermis and/or dermis. The skin is subject to injury from a variety of external and internal factors. Extremes of heat and cold; pressure, shearing, and other mechanical forces; allergens; chemicals; radiation; and excretions and secretions such as those from an ostomy or a draining wound are all potentially damaging conditions and substances that exist in the external environment. Internal factors include emaciation, drugs, altered circulation and impaired oxygen transport, altered metabolic state, and infections.
Assessment of the skin should include such subjective data as reported itching or pain and a history of exposure to solar or other radiation or to an allergen, infectious agent, or parasite, or to extreme heat or cold. Objective data include any skin lesion and its distribution, size, and appearance; the appearance of the skin adjacent to lesions; localized or generalized edema; the characteristics of secretions; odor; the texture, elasticity, and thickness of the skin surface; and observation of scratching, rubbing of the skin, or restlessness.
impaired tissue integrity a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as a state in which an individual has damage to a mucous membrane or to corneal, integumentary, or subcutaneous tissue.
risk for impaired skin integrity a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as a state in which an individual's skin is at risk of being adversely altered.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.