OBJECTIVE: Perform content validation of the defining characteristics of the "deficient knowledge" diagnosis regarding coronary disease and myocardial revascularization. METHODS: Fehring's Content Validation Model was used in this research. Fifty nurses took part in the students, all of them experts in Nursing Diagnosis, Cardiology and/or Educational Sciences. RESULTS: The defining characteristics considered most important were: verbalization of the problem (0.96), inaccurate performance of test (0.83) and expressing an incorrect perception about one's health state (0.83). CONCLUSION: The defining characteristic "inappropriate or exaggerated behaviors" (0.34) was considered insufficient to characterize the diagnosis under study. The results of this study can contribute to the adequate application of the studied diagnosis and support clinical validation studies.
Validation studies; Nursing diagnosis; Patient education; Nursing diagnosis
