Constipation in Adults: Assessment and Management

Course Overview

Constipation can be acute or chronic, and can be a serious complication of many medications and healthcare treatments. It causes discomfort and, in the most serious cases, can lead to death. All those providing care to people at risk of constipation, require a thorough understanding of how to properly assess and treat constipation.

This course has been written by healthcare content experts and has been peer reviewed.

Target Audience

Nurses

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course participants will:

1. Be able to describe the pathophysiology of constipation
2. Understand the common causes of acute and chronic constipation
3. Be able to assess and safely perform a patient examination
4. Apply appropriate nursing intervention to relieve constipation
5. Apply interventions to help prevent constipation
6. Be able to provide patient education on prevention strategies

Business Outcomes

This course may be used by providers to demonstrate evidence of workforce training that is consistent with the NSQH Standards, Standard 5: Comprehensive Care.

This course may be used by providers to demonstrate evidence of workforce training that is consistent with the ACQS Standards, Standard 3: Personal care and clinical care.