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
Turn this diagnosis into a full care plan → the free Care Plan Builder adds assessment, SMART goals, interventions with rationale, and evaluation, then exports it.
Which care plans use the Constipation diagnosis?
Write care plans 10× faster
CarePlanKit matches diagnoses to interventions and rationale automatically and exports in your school's format. Free to start; $6.99/month for unlimited.
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.
Last reviewed 2026-07. Educational content in standard clinical language; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC.