Running head: Health Promotion

Health Promotion

Health Promotion

Overview In the role of promoting health in patients and the community is very important. In current years the health care system has been evolving and changing. The roles of nurses in health promotion and prevention have broadened greatly. Health Promotion is the art and science of helping people discover the synergies between their core passions and optimal health, enhancing their motivation to strive for optimal health, and supporting them in changing their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health (O'Donnell) The goals have shifted to prevent disease from occurring rather than taking a reactive position of treating individuals once disease has already occurred. In order to realize these goals, levels of prevention have been created, defined and nurses must take an active role in the implementation of positive changes in patients lifestyle. Health promotion plays a pivotal role in the nursing practice. These levels of health prevention are aimed at taking specific actions before in order to prevent disease, as well as during to optimize patient outcomes There are three levels of health promotion that will be discussed in this paper. The three levels of health promotion are primary, secondary, and tertiary. On each level of the health promotion, the nurse incorporates the patients cultural and educational background to develop an effective and mutually agreed upon goals. Primary care providers, including nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses, now attempt to involve individuals and their families in the delivery of care, teaching individuals about individual responsibilities and lifestyle choices has become an important part of their job(Edelman & Mandle). These changes are aimed to improve the quality of life for not only the patients but the families. In this paper I will examine the three levels of health care promotion and how it can be implemented throughout the continuum of wellness promotion.

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Purpose of health promotion With the sky rocketing costs of health care and the increasing demand as the baby boomers age, there is a need to make health care more cost effective. Also with budget cuts, cost reduction and staffing shortages, the nurses role is evolving more toward health promotion. If wellness of individuals can be preserved and illness and disease reduce, it will decrease the incidences that people will enter the health care system. By preserving the wellness of individuals and reducing illness, it will reduce the number of times a person needs to enter the health-care system, in turn reducing health care demands and costs. Optimal health is a dynamic balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of learning experiences that enhance awareness, increase motivation, and build skills and, most important, through the creation of opportunities that open access to environments that make positive health practices the easiest choice. Evolving Nursing Roles and Responsibilities The evolving role of the nurse requires nurses to advocate for the wellness of their patients. This requires nurses to take a preventive and community encompassing approach. They must be able to deliver and implement all levels of promotion in a multitude of settings. If a patient has a risk for developing diabetes primary prevention can be used to educate patients about healthy eating habits and regular exercise. By undertaking these changes the patient may reduce the risk of acquiring diabetes. When a patient already has diabetes the nurse can use the secondary level by educating the patient on how to manage their disease to prevent complications. This could include blood sugar levels, insulin administration, diet and exercise. In patients that have diabetes and have experienced complications such as foot ulcers and

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amputation the nurse can utilize the tertiary level of care. Once a diabetic patient has experienced amputation the nurse will assess and educate this patient implementing a discharge care plan. The focus is on rehabilitation of the amputation which can include dressing change, medication regimen, diet and positioning. By incorporating the three levels of health promotion the nurse can facilitate patients to be proactive and help them to help themselves. The goal being the independently the patient is able to perform activities of daily living. Through educating patients nurses can elect participation and create a partnership in health.

Implementation methods for health promotion that encompasses all areas of nursing Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions (WHO). Diabetes affects health and life expectancy, has major financial and social impacts. Type 2 diabetes is a wide spread and preventable. Its onset can be linked to excess weight, sedentary lifestyle and poor nutritional habits. Nurses have a unique opportunity to educate patients at all stages of this diseases process. Three levels of health promotion prevention There is a great contrast between the three levels of health promotion preventions under primary, secondary and tertiary. The contrast depends on the extent of sickness and the irreversibility of the condition faced by the patient. The shared goal of all three levels of health promotion is to maximize the highest level of health and functioning for individuals and communities. The primary level focuses on taking a proactive approach where the nurse uses education as a tool to elect lifestyle changes in order to decrease the chances of individuals acquiring

Health Promotion illness and/or disease in the first place. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) primary prevention and health promotion can prevent up to 70 percent of the disease burden (WHO). Primary level covers people who are still healthy and have had few incidences of

disease, injury, or cases of malfunctioning. This level reduces susceptibility of people to diseases through various methods such as immunization. There is great concern on Health problems on minimizing the implications to the least degree as possible. "Primary prevention may include increasing people's resistance to illness (as in the case of immunization), decreasing or eliminating the causes of health problems, or creating an environment conducive to health rather than health problems" (Williams). At secondary level, we consider cases that range from health threats to serious sickness. For instance, drug administration as in diabetic patients as well as pain management in hospice care. It emphasizes problem solving and decision making as they relate to diabetes self-care

skills such as healthy eating, physical activity, proper dental care, and monitoring blood glucose levels. Education is targeted at teaching the diabetic patient using an interactive and collaborative approach in order to identify problems and goals. Tertiary prevention is used when individuals have been diagnosed with disease. Tertiary level of prevention focuses on rehabilitation. The goal is to bring the individual to his/her optimal level of functioning. This level of promotion includes critical health conditions and chronic and communicable diseases. The complications that are often seen in patients with un controlled diabetes often require the tertiary level of prevention. Conclusion In conclusion, nurses should educate their patients at all levels of the health continuum to promote optimum wellness for their patient. Nurses should not assume a patient understands

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what a healthy diet consists of, or that protein helps with healing. Patients at the secondary level should be educated about the importance of being compliant with their medication regimen and the outcomes of not be compliant. Patients at the tertiary level should be taught about the importance of positioning, the importance of being compliant with the medication regimen, as well as eating a healthy diet and exercise.

Health Promotion References:

Edelman, Mandle,C.(2010).Health PromotionThroughout theLife Span(7th ed).Mosby.Retrieved fromhttp://pageburstls.elsevier.com/books/9780323056625/id/9780323056625000012_p037 0

Michael P. O'Donnell (2009) Definition of Health Promotion 2.0: Embracing Passion, Enhancing Motivation, Recognizing Dynamic Balance, and Creating Opportunities. American Journal of Health Promotion: September/October 2009, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. iv-iv.

Nursing theories (2011) Models of Prevention viewed 9, 2013 at http://www.currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/models_prevention.html

Public Health Agency (2009) What is health promotion? available from (25 November 2011)

Williams, H. (2011) Primary prevention in health promotion. Pulse, The. FindArticles.com. 25 Nov 2011.World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/topics/health_promotion/en/

Health Promotion