Objective: To clarify the information used by visiting nurses for nursing assessments conducted when responding to an emergency phone call.

Methods: Study design: A qualitative descriptive study. Subjects: A total of four nurses, specifically two Certified Nurse Specialists and two Certified Nurses, who were selected from a public directory and who provided consent to participate in the study. Survey contents: A hypothetical case was presented, and an interview survey was conducted regarding the information used by visiting nurses in the nursing assessment conducted when responding to an emergency phone call. Analysis method: Verbatim records were fragmented into phrases, which are the smallest units of semantic content, and phrases were categorized based on similarities and differences. Ethical considerations: The present study was approved by the ethics committee of our affiliated university, and all requirements were adhered to.

Results: Information contents consisted of 58 codes, which were summarized into the three major categories of “The reported information”, “The information for identifying health issues”, and “The information for developing a visiting nursing plan”.

Conclusion: “The reported information” was lacking in the medical accuracy and objectivity of contents, and its accuracy was complemented by “The information for identifying health issues”, which led to identification of health issues. Furthermore, “The information for developing a visiting nursing plan” was used for developing visiting nursing plans.