The Effects of Health Promotion on Nursing free essay sample

The Effects of Health Promotion on Nursing With the health care field changing so rapidly, especially with The Affordable Care Act coming into play, it is crucial for nurses to teach health promotion to the patient population. Nurses have the responsibility to care for their patients and this includes educating them about their healthcare. There are three different levels of health promotion: primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotion. Although the three levels have different focus aspects, they may still overlap in some areas when teaching patients about their healthcare. Health promotion is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health† (Grand Canyon 2011). Health promotion is one of the primary responsibilities of the nursing profession, enabling the patient population to take responsibility for their own health care. It is the duty of the nurse to provide the patient with the knowledge and equipment available that is need ed to promote well-being and remain without illness or disease. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Health Promotion on Nursing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This can be a challenge for the nurse and the patient due to so many different types of learning styles and teaching strategies. Therefore, it is important for the nurse to assess the learning needs of the patient in order to adequately provide the needed information. Throughout history, the nursing profession has went through many changes and advancements that has led to better care of the patient population. In the past, nursing has been based in the hospital setting with a focus on disease management and in this setting there have been clear cut roles such as the doctor, the nurse, the respiratory therapist, the physical therapist etc. However, recently there has been a switch in this model of care to a community-based healthcare initiative with a focus on health education and preventative care. With nurses based in the home setting, the roles have become less clear cut and more hazy. Nurses are taking on more responsibilities and will be held more accountable for the care that they are giving to their patients. In this setting, the roles of the nurse will expand to include: advocate, care manager, consultant, deliverer of services, educator, healer, researcher, and so much more (Edelman, C. L. , Mandle, C. L 2010). This shift in healthcare shows how important health promotion is to society that our focus is now on disease prevention and education instead of on disease management. This new shift in health care that was discussed in the last paragraph is primary prevention and the priority of this model is health education. A major portion of this is risk identification and education about lifestyle modifications to eliminate or decrease these risk factors for certain illnesses and diseases. For example, smoking, nutrition, and physical activity are all modifiable risk factors for heart disease (Crouch 2011). The nurse can do health education about smoking cessation, healthy eating, and exercise in order to eliminate or reduce the risk of heart disease before it occurs. Another example of primary health prevention is immunizations. If given the proper immunizations, immunity will develop to certain illnesses and diseases. This level of prevention is so important to the patient population because it reduces the incidence of disease in the population and creates healthy living and well being. Secondary prevention is essentially the early identification of disease before severe adverse effects occur. A primary implementation method for secondary prevention is screening and diagnostic testing (Grand Canyon 2011). This screening and testing is crucial for early identification and treatment of the disease process. Also included in secondary prevention, similar to primary intervention is risk factor modification. â€Å"The paradox here is that health education and disease prevention activities are similar to those used in primary prevention, but applied to a person or population with an existing disease† (Edelman, C. L. , Mandle, C. L. 2010). Of course the different levels of health promotion will overlap and work towards the same goal. An example of secondary prevention is smoking cessation after the identification of heart disease. There is that aspect of primary prevention, but the patient has already developed the heart disease so it is considered secondary prevention. â€Å"People who stop smoking following onset of coronary heart disease or revascularisation have a substantially lower risk of death† (Carstens 2011). After the development of a disease, it is still of vital importance for the nurse to teach risk factor modification to decrease the risk of severe effects from the disease. Tertiary prevention is implemented when a disease process is already set in motion and the â€Å"defect or disability is permanent and irreversible† (Edelman, C. L. , Mandle, C. L. 2010). The main focus of tertiary prevention is for the patient to obtain their optimum level of functioning and be able to function in society. It is critical to assess the patient’s quality of life and to determine what the patient views as adequate functioning in society. This may require physical therapy, occupational therapy, home modifications, a companion, certain medications etc. Although the patient may be full blown into the disease process, it is still important for health care professionals to implement any interventions that will improve their quality of life. This paper illustrates the developing importance of health promotion and health education in the evolving healthcare field. With the focus of healthcare now shifting to home care, it will be crucial to educate the patient population about the various aspects of their care and how they can become active participants in that care. Nurses can accomplish this by using primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies. It is the duty of the nurse to take on this task of health promotion and health education to improve the health of those around us and prepare them to make active changes that will improve their well-being. References Bell JA, Burnett A. 2009). Exercise for the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of low back pain in the workplace: a systematic review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 2009 Mar; 19 (1): 8-24. doi: http://dx. doi. org. library. gcu. edu:2048/10. 1007/s10926-009-9164-5   Edelman, C. L. , Mandle, C. L. (2010). Health Defined: Objectives for Promotion and Prevention. In Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span  (7th Ed. ) (pg 5). St. Louis: Mosby. Retrieved fr om  http://pageburstls. elsevier. com/#/books/9780323056625/pages/49130424. Grand Canyon University. 2011. NRS 429-V Lecture Notes: Health Promotion in Nursing Care. Retrieved from: https://lc-ugrad1. gcu. edu/learningPlatform/user/users. html? token=0tZtX9bjjFpiLziSckqRrGFAwlK87Nv1S261tHbbS5CTuukFweYdOyDIu2GpG7y %2foperation=homeclassId=707291#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks. html? viewPage=currentoperation=innerPagecurrentTopicname=Health %20Promotion%20in%20Nursing Jane Carstens. (2011). Coronary Heart Disease (Secondary Prevention): Smoking Cessation. Retrieved from: