Many nursing languages claim to be standardized; some are simply a list of terms, others provide definitions of those terms. NANDA-I maintains that a standardized language that represents any profession should provide, at a minimum, an evidence-based definition, list of defining characteristics (signs/symptoms) and related factors (etiologic factors); risk diagnoses should include an evidence-based definition, and a list of risk factors. Without these, anyone can define any term in his/her own way which obviously violates the purpose of standardization.

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