Risk for Self-Directed Harm: Nursing Diagnosis & Care Plan
🎓 Educational reference. Match to your patient's actual assessment data and have your instructor review it.
⚠️ High-risk diagnosis. This page is a study example, not a clinical protocol: at the bedside follow your facility's policy and escalate to the provider without delay.
📞 If you or someone you know is in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org (988 Lifeline, United States). Outside the US, call your local emergency number. At the bedside, follow your facility's suicide-risk protocol.
Definition: Susceptibility to intentionally self-inflicted, life-threatening injury.
What is the Risk for Self-Directed Harm nursing diagnosis related to?
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Depressed mood
- Prior attempts or losses
What is Risk for Self-Directed Harm evidenced by?
- (Risk diagnosis) Expressed hopelessness
- Mood symptoms; possible expressed thoughts of self-harm
What are sample goals for the Risk for Self-Directed Harm nursing diagnosis?
- Patient remains safe and free of self-harm throughout the care period.
Which nursing interventions go with the Risk for Self-Directed Harm diagnosis?
- Assess suicide risk directly; provide a safe environment per protocol
- Build a trusting, nonjudgmental relationship
- Monitor medication response and connect to support/therapy
Where do these Risk for Self-Directed Harm 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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Which care plans use the Risk for Self-Directed Harm diagnosis?
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Build a care plan freeRisk for Self-Directed Harm nursing diagnosis: FAQ
What is the Risk for Self-Directed Harm nursing diagnosis?
Susceptibility to intentionally self-inflicted, life-threatening injury.
What are the related factors for Risk for Self-Directed Harm?
Common related factors: Feelings of hopelessness; Depressed mood; Prior attempts or losses. In your care plan, write it as "Risk for Self-Directed Harm related to [factor] as evidenced by [your patient's data]."
What are nursing interventions for Risk for Self-Directed Harm?
Key interventions: Assess suicide risk directly; provide a safe environment per protocol; Build a trusting, nonjudgmental relationship; Monitor medication response and connect to support/therapy, 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.