Type-2 fuzzy sets for modelling nursing intuition

Expert nurses concurrently assess the patient need for nursing care in several domains of concern to nursing. It is suggested that the process takes into account the overall context of patient need in relation to at least five domains. The degree of need within each domain is prioritised, reflecting the need for nursing intervention. This is an intuitive process in that the expert nurse uses inexact or imprecise information to make judgements based on nursing knowledge and practice wisdom. This paper presents the argument that type-2 fuzzy logic is able to model the perceptions present in the patient assessment. The problem of nursing assessment is discussed and the role of type-2 fuzzy sets in modelling nursing perceptions described. Some results are presented that indicate type-2 fuzzy logic has much to offer for modelling nursing intuition.