Constipation: Nursing Diagnosis & Care Plan
🎓 Educational reference. Match to your patient's actual assessment data and have your instructor review it.
Definition: Decreased frequency or difficult passage of hard, dry stool.
What is the Constipation nursing diagnosis related to?
- Low fiber/fluid intake
- Reduced mobility
- Opioids and other medications
What is Constipation evidenced by?
- Infrequent hard stools, straining
- Abdominal distension/discomfort
- Hypoactive bowel sounds
What are sample goals for the Constipation nursing diagnosis?
- Patient passes a soft, formed stool within 24–48 hours.
Which nursing interventions go with the Constipation diagnosis?
- Assess bowel pattern, diet, fluids, activity, meds
- Encourage fluids, fiber, and mobility
- Give stool softeners/laxatives as ordered; provide privacy
Where do these Constipation recommendations come from?
The wording above is our own, written from widely taught nursing fundamentals; it is not copied from NANDA-I. For background on the underlying health problem, these public sources were read on October 21, 2026:
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Build a care plan freeConstipation nursing diagnosis: FAQ
What is the Constipation nursing diagnosis?
Decreased frequency or difficult passage of hard, dry stool.
What are the related factors for Constipation?
Common related factors: Low fiber/fluid intake; Reduced mobility; Opioids and other medications. In your care plan, write it as "Constipation related to [factor] as evidenced by [your patient's data]."
What are nursing interventions for Constipation?
Key interventions: Assess bowel pattern, diet, fluids, activity, meds; Encourage fluids, fiber, and mobility; Give stool softeners/laxatives as ordered; provide privacy, each with a rationale in your plan.
For nursing education only, NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.
Educational content in standard clinical language; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC.