Constipation Problems of Nursing Students with Respect to Certain Variables

Aim: Nursing students must realize constipation etc. their problems and find solutions primarily within the scope of their own health development. From this point of this research was carried out in order to identify constipation problems of nursing students and investigate that factors affecting these problems.

Method: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with 525 nursing students in a school of nursing. In this school 315 students were selected with a random sampling method in the sampling. Institution in writing before the start of the study, verbal informed consent was obtained from the students. Data were collected by the Student Information Form, Constipation Severity Instruments and Constipation Quality of Life Scale. Data analysis was performed with percentage, arithmetic mean, the Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis and Spearman’s rho correlation tests were used.

Results: It was found that 78.4%of the students were female, the average age of 21.10 (SD=1.98), The Constipation Severity Instruments total score of 26.01 (SD=13.74) points. In the Constipation Severity Instruments; Obstructive Defecation was 13.70 (SD=6.45), Colonic Inertia was 10.07 (SD=6.60), Pain score was 2.23 (SD=3.05). It was found that the Constipation Quality of Life Scale score of 61.70 (SD=20.82) points. In the Constipation Quality of Life Scale; Worries/concerns was 22.79 (SD=10.37), Physical discomfort was 8.10 (SD=3.71), Psychosocial discomfort was 16.03 (SD=6.87), Satisfaction was 14.78 (SD=4.57). Also statistical significance was found between the students’gender, marital status, class, lived region of Turkey of family, fiber food consumption status, and lifestyle variables, the amount of fluid per day according to the Constipation Severity Instruments or Constipation Quality of Life Scale scores.

Conclusion: Nursing students have constipation problems and there are factors that affect this issue. Nursing students cope with constipation awareness of this problem and they should be established and given health behavior.