Health Promotion Is An Important Aspect Of Nursing

Health promotion includes providing activities that improve a person’s health. These activities assist patients to “maintain or enhance their present levels of health. Health promotion activities motivate people to act positively to reach more stable levels of health” (Potter & Perry, 2005, p. 97). In order for nurses to assist patients in obtaining healthy lifestyles, they must first assess a patient’s perception of health. The World Health Organization defines health as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (as cited in Potter & Perry, 2005, p. 91). There are many nursing theories that are based on an individual’s perception of health. This paper will

The nursing role in pulmonary rehabilitation includes one on one sessions with patients to cover more in-depth education of the disease process including actual anatomy and physiology of the pulmonary system. After that has been covered then the nurses can focus on causes of COPD, symptoms of the disease and management of them, diet, pulmonary exercise, medications for COPD and compliance issues, and most importantly smoking cessation. The nurses will likely require the patient to give return demonstrations of the medication use and pulmonary exercises such as pursed lip breathing (Mohammadi, Jowkar, Khankeh & Tafti, 2013).

Relocating into a senior care facilities can be a frightening experience for the aging population. Getting familiar with new surroundings, new organization structure, and new people that can cause anxiety to rise. For a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer individual, this experience can be traumatic. The fear of harassment, hostility, and neglect by healthcare providers and caretakers can keep LGBTQ people from seeking care until their health begins to critically decline. LGBTQ cultural competency training is highly recommended for healthcare professionals and social service organizations. The greatest barrier that prevents quality health care for LGBTQ people is the lack of competence among the healthcare professionals.

The three Health Promotion issues I have chosen to discuss are smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. According to NICE (2007) Smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise play an important role in the health and behaviour of people in relation to their social and cultural background. I have chosen to discuss a group of patients aged 70-75 years old who have previously been diagnosed with heart disease; multiple medical conditions include hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes; they are currently being treated on a cardiac ward waiting for further tests. I will explore the three areas of Health Promotion and discuss how they are Linked to the patients underlining medical issues. Ethnics in nursing practice will be discussed, focusing on the patient’s views, values and principles; Inter-professional working in educating the patient and the impact it can have on how we think and react to our lifestyle choices; I will focus on Various models and discuss how they are linked in relation to the patient and health promotion. In accordance to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) full consent has been verbally granted; also in respect of their privacy the patients names and placement area will remain anonymous.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) falls within societal minority groups such as low income, people of color, and disables (AHRQ, 2011). Due to their gender identity, discrimination, violence, and even denial of human rights and healthcare services is a common challenge among LGBT population. LGBT still faces many health disparities primarily related to the historic bias of healthcare professionals anti-LGBT manners even though society acceptance has been favorable. According to Ard and Makadon (n.d), “until 1973, homosexuality was listed as a disorder…, and transgender still is.” This stigma prevents healthcare professionals to openly ask questions in a non-judgmental manner related to sexual identity. On the other hand, if the patient senses that the healthcare environment is discriminating they may be reluctant to disclose important information as their sexual orientation; thus, missing important opportunities of been educated about safety and health care risks.

“Being gay is much more profound than simply a sexual relationship; being gay is part of that person’s core identity, and goes right to the very center of his being. It’s like being black in s society of whites, or a blonde European in a nation of black Asians” (Tamara L. Roleff). Although marriage, cohabitation and parenting styles of homosexual families pose no threats to the heterosexual society; many still believe same-sex marriage goes against its true purpose. “At the national level, American public opinion on the issue remains split (44 percent support legalizing same-sex marriage; 53 percent oppose same-sex marriage in a May 2010 Gallup Poll) even as opposition toward legalizing same-sex marriage is at its lowest point in decades

Arguments for gay and lesbian families is a concern for the sanctity of marriage is often accompanied by a discomfort with the idea of gay and lesbian families, based on misinformation about the quality of those relationships and their impact on children (Kimmel 184). Arguments that support gay and lesbian families are mainly focused on having the same equal rights as heterosexuals. Many gay and lesbian couples want to get married because of the benefits they acquire such as the right to inherit from a spouse who dies without a will, the right to consult with doctors and make crucial decisions (Kimmel 184). A meta analysis of social studies of gay and lesbian parenting suggests that children are more accepting of homosexuality and maybe more likely to indicate a willingness to consider homosexual relationships themselves (Kimmel 186). Another great example is daughters of lesbian and gay parents are more assertive, confident, and ambitious, and sons are less conforming to traditional masculine aggression and domination and have a better understanding of their gender identity (Kimmel

All families face challenges in their everyday life. For some, the challenges are easier to handle while for others, surmounting those challenges can be more difficult. Over the years, the LGBT community in the US has faced many hurdles. Whether it’s the legalization of same-sex marriage to adoption rights to alimony, child support and child custody in case of divorce, legislation specific to gay and lesbian couples still has a long way to go.

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.

Nurses play an important role in promoting health within the patient, family, and community (Kemppainen, Tassavainen, & Turunen, 2012). The focus of patient care has been transferred from treating the illness to disease prevention (Mchugh, Robinson, & Chesters, 2010). The implementation of consultation, education, and follow up exams can increase the overall quality of life for an individual (Kemppainen et al., 2012). I will discuss the various roles of a nurse in health promotion along with the multiple work environments in which they can be implemented within. I will also reveal the maintenance plan of my own personal health regimen.

“There is no scientific basis for concluding that lesbian mothers or gay fathers are unfit parents on the basis of their sexual orientation” (Armesto, 2002; Patterson, 2000; Tasker & Golombok, 1997). Ever since gay and lesbians have been parents people have questioned how the parents’ sexual orientation impacts child and adolescent development. Opponents of same-sex parents argue that sexual orientation has a negative impact on child development, while proponents argue that the relationship between the child and parents is what matters. National, state, and local governments are faced with the controversy surrounding same-sex parenting. People have very strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Children and adolescents who are under lesbian or gay parents have normal child development compared with children under heterosexual parents. These children develop normally socially, mentally, and academically.

Sexual and social stigmas largely affect the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population. While many reports from the Institute of Medicine, Healthy People 2020 and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recognize a need to improve the quality of health care, barriers still remain. LGBT patients face legal discrimination, especially with insurance, a lack of social programs, and limited access to providers competent in LGBT health care. Although the Affordable Care Act increased access to care for LGBT patients, unless these patients feel understood by providers and develop trust in the system, they are not likely to utilize care. Healthcare providers need to recognize how these vulnerabilities, as well as persistent racism and stigma linked to sexual orientation and gender identity, make the healthcare needs of LGBT patients more challenging than the general population. Healthcare providers also need to promote cultural competence within this population and broaden their clinical lens to include health promotion, in addition to addressing concerns mentioned above within the population. Additionally, medical and nursing schools need to ensure that future providers are adequately educated by including information about this population in the curriculum.

Gay parents are facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Twenty-two states currently allow single gays to adopt and 21 states currently allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt in the U.S. (Mallon, 2007, p. 6). The ability of gay couples to rear a child should not be denied only because they are gay. Homosexuals may be looked down upon by society, but they still are humans and have morals. These morals they possess, may influence a child more than those morals taught to a child with heterosexual parents. All over the world, children suffer in families consisting of alcoholics, drug abusers, and sexual abusers (Powell, 2007, p.1). It is not possible that these environments are safer than what would be provided by homosexual

This report explores the fundamental role of Health Promotion to the health sector and individuals in relation to their biological, psychological and sociological aspects. To discuss its practical role in the society, a health promotion model is related to a family that lives in socially deprived district as determined by Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (2014). In accordance to confidentiality and anonymity code of Nursing and Midwifery Council - NMC (2015) the family members named in this report are fictitious; the district is named as Locality-A; and the facilities named are not available within the public domain.

Health is defined as a state in which human needs are met in an autonomic way, and is not limited to the absence of disease or disablement (V. Henderson). Optimal health is a lively, self-motivated equilibrium of physical, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and social well-being. The concept of health promotion delineates the method of empowering people to increase control over, and to advance their own overall health.