Willingness To Improve Nutrition

Introduction for NANDA Nursing Diagnoses

Nursing diagnoses are statements that reflect a patient’s actual or potential response to health conditions/life processes. They provide the basis for selection of nursing interventions to achieve outcomes for which the nurse is accountable.

Nursing Diagnosis: Willingness to Improve Nutrition

Definition: Readiness of the patient to increase intake of nutritionally sound foods.

Defining Characteristics (Subjective)

• Expresses an interest in changing nutritional habits
• Verbalizes understanding of nutrition needs
• Recognizes personal responsibility for nutritional choices
• States willingness to make changes to improve nutrition status

Defining Characteristics (Objectives)

• Increases intake of nutritionally sound foods
• Explains nutritional benefits of certain foods
• Makes appropriate food selections
• Selects portion sizes that provide adequate nutriments

Related Factors

• Knowledge Deficit: Lack of understanding of nutritional needs, dietary limitations, and food intake that improves health status
• Environmental Limitations: Lack of access to nutrition therapy and resources that support nutritional health
• Psychosocial Distress: Disrupted lifestyle, financial difficulty, and diminished coping in managing dietary restrictions due to illness

Risk Population

• Older population
• Pediatric patients
• Patients with cognitive impairment
• Patients with chronic illness
• Patients recovering from surgery

Associated Problems

• Malnutrition: Insufficient nutritional intake leading to an imbalance in body weight and composition
• Electrolyte Imbalances: Lambda in sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in order to maintain fluid and acid balance
• I–Nutritional Status: Lack of intake; leading to inadequate energy required for normal functioning

Suggestions for Use

Nursing diagnoses can be used to develop a care plan that includes health promotion and education as related to nutrition. The patient should be provided with resources and support to maintain optimum nutritional health, such as nutrition counseling, diet planning and goal setting.

Suggested Alternative NANDA Nursing Diagnoses

• Ineffective therapeutic regimen management
• Impaired swallowing
• Activity intolerance
• Readiness for enhanced nutrition

Usage Tips

• Interventions should be designed to enhance the patient's knowledge of professional recommendations and nutritional guidelines.
• Educate patients to use labels and appropriately include foods in their diets.
• Encourage nutritional education through self-monitoring, diets, calorie and fat content of different meals.
• Instruct patients to read nutritional labels and modify eating habits accordingly.
• Provide foods with cultural tastes that appeal to the patient.

NOC (Nursing Outcomes Classification)

• Nutrition: Intake of food, fluids and supplements
• Body Weight: Amount of body tissue based on height and weight measurements
• Nutritional Status: Level of nutrient intake obtained through diet to meet metabolic demands
• Body Mass Index: Measurement of body weight and height to assess adiposity

NIC (Nursing Interventions Clasification)

• Nutrition Counseling: Assess nutritional needs, develop intervention goals and objectives, and provide advice regarding diet and nutrition.
• Diet Planning: Design a plan for meeting nutritional objectives, select foods for inclusion in the plan, and ensure availability of foods.
• Goal Setting: Establish specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time–limited objectives related to nutrition.
• Health Education: Teach about the relationship between nutrition and health, the importance of following nutrition guidelines, and the sources of nutrition information.

Conclusion

Nursing Diagnosis: Willingness to Improve Nutrition is an important diagnosis as it allows nurses to properly assess and evaluate the patient’s readiness to make necessary changes in order to improve their nutrition status. Through proper interventions, the patient will be able to obtain the necessary nutritional needs and achieve optimal health.

FAQs

• Which patients are at risk of developing this diagnosis?
• What are the defining characteristics of this diagnosis?
• What associated problems may arise with this diagnosis?
• What suggestions may be taken in order to address this diagnosis?
• What alternative NANDA Nursing Diagnoses might be used in place of this one?
• What NOC (Nursing Outcomes Classification) and NIC (Nursing Interventions Classification) may be used to assess and intervene with this diagnosis?