Nurses' knowledge of prevention and management of constipation

Constipation is often a preventable problem in health care; therefore health professionals must have the appropriate knowledge to help patients prevent this common complaint occurring. The purpose of this study was to assess nurses' knowledge of constipation in a teaching hospital in Northern Ireland. A knowledge questionnaire on constipation was obtained and adapted for use in this study using a non-experimental survey design to assess a convenience sample of nurses (n = 131) within various hospital specialities. The results demonstrated gaps in nurses' knowledge of constipation and also indicated that knowledge varied between specialties and between nursing grades. Educational initiatives must not allow bowel care, often labelled 'basic nursing care', to be neglected in postregistration education and training.