Health Promotion

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Ottawa Charter defined health promotion as “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to

In general, the healthcare system has been faced by a lot of trends, which have left the healthcare providers with less option but to move in haste to accommodate the trends in their day-to-day activities. All aspects of the healthcare system have been affected, and this paper reveals specific trends in long-term care and health promotion.

Discuss the effectiveness of a range of health promotion strategies in relation to young people (6 marks)

According to the World Health Organization health promotion is defined as "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, 2013) This applies to the nursing profession in that nurses are educating patient on the steps needed for their health such as diet, exercise, therapies, and medication compliance.

Health is very difficult to define as it is multidimensional and made up of different but linked elements. There is no universal definition of health as everyone has their own idea of what it means. However there has been a more rounded, summarised statement by the World health Organisation, Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO 1984). This statement suggests that health is a primary holistic concept. Nurses must have an open minded outlook onto the health of others. A nurse must see the patient as a whole and assess all aspects of health before being able to assist them in making decisions on how to make their life healthier. Health promotion allows people the ability and resources to improve and

Equality in everything, including health issues, has to be the main feature of the modern world. National health programs of the US operate to ensure adequate and timely treatment of all citizens. Nevertheless, health indicators of some racial and ethnic groups are significantly worse than of the white Americans. It applies to the Hispanic Americans and significantly affects their lives. The current health status of this minority is far from satisfactory and needs improvements through existing programs and the development of new approaches to address

Health promotion is very important to the nursing profession. It is one of the most important aspects of their career and should be practiced from the first day they are a nurse. It not only helps the patient to live a more healthy life, but a longer life without complications. Nurses take on many roles in health promotion, and as such should know the definition.

The next interview was of an Asian American family. This is a military family, the father meet, married and brought back to the United States a 23 year old Vietnamese woman. Family is vital to this Asian American family and respect is expected. Over the years, the mother has adapted to some western ways but maintains certain culture values and passed them on to her children. Diet plays a huge part in their health maintenance and protection. The diet manly consists of rice, vegetables and fish. Along with diet, exercise and staying fit is a big part of their ethnic background. The mother stated to me “Don’t you see all the Asian ladies at the gym? We take pride in staying fit.” To them their body is a temple and needs to be cared for. Spirituality of mind body and soul is another significant part of their health. Partaking in meditation, massage therapy and acupuncture are ways to rid the body of imbalance and place it back in balance to fight illness and diseases. Illness may be attributed to organic or physical problems an imbalance of yin and yang, an obstruction of chi (life energy), a failure to be in harmony with nature, punishment for immoral behavior (in this or past lives), or a curse placed by an offended spirit ("Vietnamese Cultural Profile — EthnoMed," n.d.). While this family is westernized in some ways, by going to the doctor and

The health promotion practicum course helped me explore around town in finding places to do my internship under a licensed Physical Therapy. I took this course since the class can help me discover my own self and see if I am choosing the right path for myself in the future. I did an internship when I was in the community college with my human services course. I volunteered at the activities stations at Hilo Medical Center and worked with nurses. I knew back than, I did not see myself as a Nurse, and that’s where I noticed a Physical therapist and witness up hand, in what they do. From there, I changed my track and I knew I would rather help people in a difference aspect compared to a nurse.

Kemppainen, V., Tossavainen, K., & Turunen, H. (2013). Nurses' roles in health promotion practice: An integrative review. Oxfords Journal Health Promotion International, 31(1). Retrieved June 3, 2016.

The nursing profession is one of the largest health care professions, providing important opportunities for health promotion with potential to reform health at the legislative level. Health promotion is defined by Kreuter and Devore (1980) as, “the process of advocating health in order to enhance the probability that person (individual, family, and community), private (professional and business), and public (federal, state, and local government) support of positive

Health promotion and teaching are important tools for nursing. By promoting health and health teaching, nurses can help lay the foundation for a healthier future.

The World Health Organisation - WHO (2015) defines Health Promotion as fundamental discipline in disease prevention through social /environmental intervention, health education and behaviour change towards health. This description coincides with Dahlgren and Whitehead’s Social Determinants of Health (1992) where the individual’s health is not only limited to medical factors but it is largely influenced by lifestyle – rooting from its social factors from familial, societal to national level. In this regard, the vital role of the nurse as a health promotion practitioner is to uphold individual’s autonomy by increasing their knowledge about how the body functions to prevent diseases and making them aware of how the healthcare

Health promotion aims a wide range of targets at different levels in the community. The huge benefits resulted from health promotion and disease prevention efforts make many realize that this domain of health care is worth to be invested in. The focus is shifted evermore from the medical to the preventative approach, from treating the disease to avoiding the onset of it.

Nurses implement health promotion strategies in a variety of ways. Due to the high level of credibility nurse’s have with their patients, they greatly influence their patients with their passion. By emphasizing health promotion strategies such as self-responsibility, proper nutrition, exercise and stress management, nurses plant the seeds of wellness in the minds of their patients. While ultimately, it is up to the individual to make healthy changes in their lives, the role of the nurse practitioner plays a huge role in motivating individuals to adopt healthy habits.