Evaluation of the Classification Accuracy of Bowel Movement Patterns Using a Flowchart : A Study Using Simulated Bowel Movement Records

Abstract

 The objective of this study was to revise the bowel movement record form and update version 2 of the flowchart－which the authors created to evaluate the necessity of nursing intervention for bowel movements (Kira et al. 2016)－based on the evaluation of classification accuracy of bowel movement patterns.
 We asked nurses and nursing students to classify bowel movement patterns using the flowchart based on the six types of bowel movements described in a simulated 2-week bowel movement record. Based on the analysis of factors that caused errors in classification, the bowel movement record form was revised and the flowchart was updated from version 2 to version 3. As a result, the number of correct classifications of the six types of bowel movements increased significantly, and the accuracy of classification of each bowel movement pattern increased significantly. However, few bowel movement patterns were classified with an accuracy of 80% or less. Based on further analysis of these results, a new bowel movement record form and a version 4 of the flowchart were proposed.