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# Nursing diagnosis in general terms: actual, risk and health-promotion statements

- Fundamental

A nursing diagnosis is the nurse's judgment about how a person is responding to their health situation.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Medical diagnosis = the disease; nursing diagnosis = the person's response to it.
- Types: actual problem, risk, health promotion and syndrome (two or more nursing diagnoses that occur together).
- Actual-problem statement: problem + «related to» + «as evidenced by».
- A risk diagnosis has no signs or symptoms yet: it is supported by risk factors.
- Actual problems usually take priority over risks, unless the person's vulnerability is high.

## What it is

Nursing diagnosis is the second phase of the process. From the assessment data, the nurse identifies the person's responses that nursing can address: a problem that already exists, a risk that could develop, or the person's readiness to improve their well-being. It does not name a disease (that is the medical diagnosis) but what the person is living through because of it. A problem statement usually has three parts: the problem, its related factors («related to») and the data that show it («as evidenced by»). Institutions use standardised taxonomies; this page describes them in general terms only.

## Key points

- Actual problem: already present and supported by current signs and symptoms.
- Risk: could develop without intervention, because of the person's vulnerabilities (for example, a risk of falls in a dizzy older adult).
- Health promotion: the person wants to and is ready to improve some aspect of their well-being.
- Syndrome: two or more nursing diagnoses that occur together and are best addressed together, with similar interventions.
- The diagnosis must be confirmed with this patient's data, not copied from a list.

## Components

- Problem: which human response is altered or at risk.
- Related factors: the cause or contributors to the problem that nursing can treat (not a medical diagnosis).
- Supporting data: subjective and objective findings from the assessment.

## What it is for

- It guides the goals and interventions of the care plan: interventions aim at the related factors.
- It shows what the nurse treats on their own judgment: registered nurses make nursing diagnoses independently.
- It individualises care: two people with the same disease can have different nursing diagnoses.

## Types of nursing diagnosis, described in general terms

| Type | What it is based on | Example in plain words |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Actual problem | Signs and symptoms present | A problem moving related to wound pain, shown by being unable to sit up alone |
| Risk | Risk factors, no signs yet | A risk of falls because of dizziness on standing and sedative use |
| Health promotion | The person's motivation to improve | Readiness to improve eating habits, expressed by the person |
| Syndrome | Two or more diagnoses that occur together | Several related problems addressed together with the same interventions |

## In nursing practice

- The same medical diagnosis produces different responses in each person, and so different nursing diagnoses.
- The nurse formulates nursing diagnoses and acts on them; the medical diagnosis is made by the physician or another authorised provider.
- It is reviewed at every evaluation: a problem may resolve, change or give way to another.

## Common mistakes

- Writing a disease («pneumonia») as if it were a nursing diagnosis.
- Giving as a related factor something nursing cannot change, such as the medical diagnosis.
- Listing signs and symptoms in a risk diagnosis, as if the problem already existed.
- Picking a diagnosis from a list with no patient data to support it.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What does a nursing diagnosis describe, unlike a medical one?

The person's response to their health situation, which nursing can address; the medical diagnosis names the disease.

## What are the three parts of an actual-problem statement?

The problem, the related factors («related to») and the supporting data («as evidenced by»).

## What supports a risk diagnosis, if the problem does not exist yet?

The person's risk factors; there are no signs or symptoms of the problem yet.

## Which type of diagnosis expresses that the person wants to improve their well-being?

A health-promotion diagnosis.

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## Connections

## Related 1

- [Planning care: priorities, measurable goals and interventions](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/planning-care-priorities-measurable-goals-and-interventions/)

[← All of nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/)

Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.

Sources: [Nursing Fundamentals (Open RN), 4.4 Diagnosis](https://med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Nursing/Nursing_Fundamentals_(OpenRN)/04%3A_Nursing_Process/4.04%3A_Diagnosis) (Open RN, Chippewa Valley Technical College (LibreTexts), 2022); [Nursing Fundamentals (Open RN), 4.6 Planning](https://med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Nursing/Nursing_Fundamentals_(OpenRN)/04%3A_Nursing_Process/4.06%3A_Planning) (Open RN, Chippewa Valley Technical College (LibreTexts), 2022).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/nursing/nursing-diagnosis-in-general-terms-actual-risk-and-health-promotion-statements/