Impaired Skin Integrity: Nursing Diagnosis & Care Plan
🎓 Educational reference. Match to your patient's actual assessment data and have your instructor review it.
Definition: Altered epidermis and/or dermis — damaged or destroyed skin tissue.
Related factors ("related to")
- Infection or pressure
- Moisture or friction
- Impaired circulation
Defining characteristics ("as evidenced by")
- Disruption of skin surface
- Redness, warmth, drainage
- Pain at the site
Sample goals / outcomes
- Wound/skin shows healing with reduced redness and no signs of infection over the treatment course.
Nursing interventions
- Assess and stage the wound; monitor for infection
- Perform ordered wound care with aseptic technique
- Relieve pressure and manage moisture
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Build a care plan freeImpaired Skin Integrity nursing diagnosis: FAQ
What is the Impaired Skin Integrity nursing diagnosis?
Altered epidermis and/or dermis — damaged or destroyed skin tissue.
What are the related factors for Impaired Skin Integrity?
Common related factors: Infection or pressure; Moisture or friction; Impaired circulation. In your care plan, write it as "Impaired Skin Integrity related to [factor] as evidenced by [your patient's data]."
What are nursing interventions for Impaired Skin Integrity?
Key interventions: Assess and stage the wound; monitor for infection; Perform ordered wound care with aseptic technique; Relieve pressure and manage moisture — 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.