Introduction:

Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is a condition developed secondary to a spinal cord injury, which manifests with the loss of coordinated autonomic responses and cardiovascular control. For the care of the person, the nurse has the nursing diagnosis of AD, which allows the precise interpretation of the human responses of each individual. However, it is necessary to strengthen and update the diagnosis to the new disciplinary knowledge that evolved with nursing practice. For this, proposing a situation-specific theory is essential to explain the phenomenon of interest and guide practice.

Objective:

To construct a situation-specific theory for the nursing diagnosis of AD derived from the adaptation model of Sor Callista Roy.

Materials and methods:

Theoretical study developed in five stages: defining the approach to construct the theory, defining key concepts, developing a pictorial diagram, building propositions, and establishing causal relationships and evidence for practice.

Results:

The situation-specific theory included defining key concepts, developing a pictorial diagram, building propositions, and establishing causal relationships and evidence for practice. We described the concepts and their relationships through seven propositions and identified 19 ineffective behaviors and 43 environmental stimuli. Of them, 39 are focal, and four are contextual stimuli.

Conclusions:

This situation-specific theory offers a substantiated and comprehensive explanation of the human response to AD for supporting nursing care.

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