The Role of Nursing in 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

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

COPD is one of the many preventable diseases that health care providers deal with. Nurses needs to familiarize themselves with this disease process and how it affects the body, preventative methods, and treatment plans, so that they can be well informed when it comes to patient education. Education is a big part of nursing and considering COPD is the third leading cause of death, nurses will be in frequent contact with

Health Promotion This is the process of allowing people to have more control over their health as this will help improve their health and well-being. It focuses on individual behaviour towards a wide range of social and interventions. Health promotion is how health is shown for example to challenge obesity change 4 life is used so people can have a guidance on how to make their lifestyle healthier. It also shows that health promotion is aimed at individuals whose health is at risk from any diseases from lifestyle factors, which lets individuals take control over their health. By being able to have control over their health it shows individuals what may have happened if nothing was done of it

Finkelman, A. (2013) Health promotion, Disease Prevention, and Illness: A community Perspective.. In Professional Nursing Concepts (Second ed., pp 201-227). Burlington: Jones & Bartlet Learning.

The way that this can have an impact on health promotion efforts is by having Nurse Practitioners educating patients about certain issues (i.e. obesity of diabetes). What is happening is most individuals will learn about their health and how to deal with a host of conditions from their primary care provider. This is because the majority of insurance companies will restrict the patient’s access to specialists (based on a referral from their

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.

For many years, health promotions and prevention has been the focus for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Health promotion seeks to improve a person or population’s health by teaching about and helps people become more aware of risky behaviors associated with different diseases. It encourages individuals to take preventative measures to prevent onset or worsening of a disease or illness. It encourages a healthier lifestyle (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The strategy is to help people make health improvements or prevention before illness occurs.

There are various methods used in the implementation of health promotion that encompasses entire areas of nursing. Providing education, providing information and increasing the knowledge to the patient and the community. In this nursing process a complete assessment, planning, nursing diagnosis; creating plan of care, rendering care and outcome evaluation is done. This nursing process is used during the entire nursing practice in very particular stages and in the progression of the quality care.

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.

“Health is defined as a state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO). Like wise health promotion is the process of increasing the functional capacity of all people hence promote the sense of well-being. In order to accomplish this goal all health care professionals have to work hard by submitting themselves to their patients and community as a whole. Thus globalize health promotion should be the ultimate mission for all health care team, especially for nurses. Nurses are the first level health care team therefore nurses should play as a role model to all human beings. They should hold various positions in order to achieve optimum results. In this evolving health industry

3. Pender N, Murdaugh CL, Parsons MA. Health promotion in nursing practice. 5th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall (NJ): Upper Saddle River; 2006.

The World health Organisation says Health promotion is a method using an assortment of social and environmental interventions to support individuals in managing and improving their own health. (WHO, 2016).

Health promotion is a process, which encourages individuals to increase their knowledge through information and individual choice to recognize and improve their health (WHO, 1986).

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.