What are the seven diagnostic axes in NANDA-I and what does each represent?

The seven axes are: Axis 1, the focus of the diagnosis; Axis 2, the subject of the diagnosis (individual, caregiver, family, group, community); Axis 3, judgment (e.g., impaired, ineffective); Axis 4, location; Axis 5, age; Axis 6, time; and Axis 7, status of the diagnosis (problem-focused, health promotion, risk). They parallel the International Standards Reference Model and are used as dimensions of the human response in the diagnostic process.

Axis 1, the focus of the diagnosis, is the principal, essential element or root of the diagnostic concept; it describes the human response at the core of the diagnosis. Axis 2, the subject of the diagnosis, identifies the person(s) for whom the diagnosis is determined: individual, caregiver, family, group, or community. Axis 3, judgment, is a descriptor or modifier that limits or specifies the meaning of the focus, and together the focus and judgment form the diagnosis. Axis 4, location, describes the parts or regions of the body and their related functions, including tissues, organs, anatomical sites, or structures. Axis 5, age, refers to the age group of the subject and includes terms such as fetus, neonate, infant, child, adolescent, adult, older adult, and aged adult. Axis 6, time, describes the duration of the diagnostic concept and uses terms such as acute, chronic, intermittent, and continuous. Axis 7, status of the diagnosis, refers to the actuality or potentiality of the problem, syndrome, or health promotion opportunity and uses the terms problem-focused, health promotion, and risk. The axes may appear explicitly or implicitly in diagnostic labels, and not every axis is pertinent to every diagnosis.