Data collection bases the Nursing Assistance Systematization, methodology that permits the nurse to apply the technical-scientific knowledge which define his/her professional practice. This study aimed to elaborate an instrument for data collection, seeking efficient registry of the data, as well as validating the shape and content of this instrument. It investigated the signs and symptoms most frequently found in patients in an Intensive Care Unit and it categorized them into Basic Human Necessities. Later, the instrument was validated in terms of shape and content. Observing the structure of the instrument, the necessity for reduction was detected. Validation also showed that the instrument permits the development of the nursing diagnosis and the development of the NAS for care for the critical patient in an Intensive Care Unit.
Nursing care; Nursing; Intensive Care Units; Data collection