Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan

What is an Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan?

Engagement in activities is often celebrated for its health benefits. Yet, some individuals face physiological or psychological barriers, such as prolonged bed rest or generalized weakness, that prevent them from participating fully. This condition, known as activity intolerance, can stem from mixed reasons, including underlying medical conditions, physical limitations, or psychological energy challenges. Recognizing and addressing these causes early can foster inclusivity and support individuals toward improved well-being.

Caring for someone can be done efficiently with the help of an Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan. Healthcare professionals use this document to outline a comprehensive approach to caring for patients with limited physical activity due to medical conditions, injuries, or overall health status.

The Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan guides nurses through assessing, diagnosing, and addressing patient activity intolerance. It involves gathering medical history, assessing activity levels, formulating diagnoses, setting realistic goals, implementing exercises and pain management interventions, and continuously evaluating progress.

How to use our Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan template?

Exercise tolerance can be improved by giving proper attention and interventions. To use this care plan, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Access the template

To begin using the Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan, click the "Use template" button to open it in the Carepatron app. You can then customize the plan to suit your patient’s specific needs, such as adding relevant assessments, nursing interventions, and goals.  The Carepatron app allows for easy storage and tracking, ensuring that all patient care plans are accessible and organized for future reference. Alternatively, you can click "Download" to save a non-editable PDF version for printing or sharing.

Step 2: Conduct a nursing assessment

Begin by performing a thorough nursing assessment. This involves gathering the patient’s medical history, documenting current activity levels, and identifying any activity intolerance-related symptoms, such as fatigue or shortness of breath. Be sure to monitor vital signs like heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to assess the patient’s physiological response to activity. Record this data in the Subjective and Objective fields of the template.

Step 3: Formulate the activity intolerance nursing diagnosis

Based on your assessment, develop an activity intolerance nursing diagnosis. Consider potential causes like decreased cardiac output, respiratory issues, or general deconditioning. Use standardized NANDA-approved statements. This diagnosis should be entered into the Nursing diagnosis section of the template.

Step 4: Set goals and outcomes

Next, set short-term and long-term goals for your patient’s recovery. For example, a short-term goal may be for the patient to walk a certain distance without experiencing significant fatigue, while a long-term goal might aim to improve overall stamina and exercise to maintain muscle strength. These goals should be realistic and time-bound, and you can document them in the Goals and outcomes section of the care plan.

Step 5: Implement nursing interventions

Now, implement specific nursing interventions to address activity intolerance. Teach energy conservation techniques to help the patient pace themselves during daily activities and conserve energy. You can also incorporate exercises like ROM exercises to improve strength and mobility, as well as breathing exercises to enhance respiratory function. Other interventions might include providing assistive devices for mobility or assessing nutritional status and functional status to ensure the patient is adequately supported. Record these interventions and their rationales in the relevant sections of the template.

Step 6: Monitor and evaluate progress

Finally, evaluate the patient’s progress regularly. Monitor vital signs during and after activities, and assess the patient’s tolerance levels. Adjust the care plan as necessary based on how the patient responds to the interventions. If improvements are seen, gradually increase the intensity of activities to further build endurance. Be sure to document any changes in the Evaluation section of the template to track progress and ensure continuous care.

When would you use this template?

The Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan template is particularly useful in the following scenarios:

• Post-surgery or hospitalization: Patients recovering from surgery or a hospital stay may have activity limitations. Nurses can use this template to create personalized care plans catering to their patient's needs and aiding recovery.
• Chronic illness management: Patients with chronic illnesses often have reduced tolerance for physical activity. The template helps healthcare practitioners manage and improve the patient's activity levels over time.
• Rehabilitation programs: Rehabilitation patients benefit from a structured care plan tailoring interventions to enhance activity tolerance gradually.
• Elderly care: Individuals may have mobility and activity issues due to aging or health conditions. Nurses in senior care can use this template to create safe activity plans.
• Home healthcare settings: Templates are valuable tools for nurses to create in-home healthcare plans that can be easily communicated and implemented in a patient's home environment.
• Preventive care: Using templates proactively can help identify and address issues before they escalate, especially in wellness programs or for those with activity intolerance risk factors.
• Palliative care: The template can be adapted in palliative care to alleviate symptoms of activity intolerance, improving patient comfort and well-being.
• Long-term care facilities: Nurses can develop care plans for long-term residents using the provided template to ensure structured activity maintenance or improvement based on their unique needs.

By employing the template in these scenarios, healthcare practitioners can enhance patient care quality, promote better outcomes, and facilitate effective communication among the healthcare team. 

What are the benefits of using an Activity Intolerance Nursing Care Plan?

Activity intolerance can hinder an individual from performing physical activities and affect their emotional well-being. As a healthcare provider, you know very well that each patient's journey is unique, and having a care plan can bring about certain advantages. Here are some of them:

• Improved activity tolerance: Interventions like therapeutic exercises and mobility assistance can lead to positive outcomes such as increased stamina, mobility, and performance in physical activities, contributing to improved activity tolerance.
• Stabilized condition: Effective management and mitigation of factors contributing to activity intolerance can stabilize the patient's condition.
• Achieved goals: Meeting the specified goals within the set timeframe signifies successful care plan implementation. For instance, if the goal was to increase the patient's walking distance by a certain percentage, achieving or exceeding this target demonstrates progress and effectiveness in care.
• Patient satisfaction and adherence: Assessing patient satisfaction and adherence to the care plan is crucial. If the patient reports satisfaction with their progress and adheres to the prescribed interventions, it suggests a positive response to the plan and the likelihood of continued success.

Optimizing wellness through an Activity Care Plan

An Activity Care Plan is essential for people struggling with activity intolerance. It helps doctors and nurses devise a plan to help these patients improve their daily activities.

Creating an activity-based care plan is a structured process focusing on individual needs and preferences. A comprehensive Activity Care Plan tailored for patients with decreased activity tolerance focuses on maximizing the patient's peak energy level while incorporating energy conservation techniques. Nurses play a critical role in formulating this plan, which may include a variety of interventions, such as active ROM exercises to maintain joint flexibility and deep breathing exercises to enhance pulmonary efficiency.

Giving patients different activities to try that match what they can do helps them feel better and enjoy life more. Moreover, an Activity Care Plan helps patients feel more in charge of their daily routines and lets them join in activities that make them healthier and happier.

For broader patient care strategies, explore our nursing care plan and care plan templates, which provide a comprehensive approach to patient management. Additionally, check out our nursing diagnosis templates for detailed guidance on diagnosing and planning patient care.