Final answer:
Nursing diagnostic statements categorize health issues that can be managed by nurses. The four types are Actual, Risk, Health Promotion, and Possible Nursing Diagnoses, with the first two being the most commonly used.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nursing diagnostic statements are a critical part of nursing care, as they help nurses identify and articulate patient health problems that nurses can manage through independent interventions. There are primarily four types of nursing diagnostic statements:
- Actual Nursing Diagnosis - This is a statement about a health condition that a patient is currently experiencing, which is validated by the presence of major defining characteristics. Examples include impaired mobility, acute pain, and risk for infection.
- Risk Nursing Diagnosis - This type of diagnosis is about health problems that the patient does not currently have but is at risk of developing in the future. It does not have defining characteristics since the condition has not yet manifested. For example, risk for falls or risk for pressure ulcers.
- Health Promotion Nursing Diagnosis - Also known as wellness diagnosis, this statement is about patients’ motivation and desire to increase well-being and move towards a specific health goal, such as readiness for enhanced family coping.
- Possible Nursing Diagnosis - This is used for suspected problems for which additional data are needed to confirm or rule out the suspected problem. An example might be possible nutritional imbalance.
Actual and Risk Nursing diagnoses are the most commonly used, while Health Promotion and Possible Nursing diagnoses are utilized less frequently but are still important tools for a comprehensive nursing assessment.