Select and review (3)recent(within last 5 years)journal articles(one of each of the primary,
secondary, and tertiary levels of health promotion)in nursing practice. Prepare an essay
(750-1,000)words in which you review and compare (3)articles you have selected for this
assignment. Address the following:
- How is health promotion defined?
2.What is the purpose of health promotion in nursing practice?
3.How are nursing role and responsibilities evolving in health promotion?
4.Explain the implementation methods for health promotion that encompasses all areas of
nursing.
5.Compare the (3)levels of health promotion prevention.
Health Promotion in Nursing Care
Health is a fundamental need and requirement to all the population. Health promotion is
the processes of ensuring that people increase control over and improve their health (Watson, M.
2008). To achieve the state of complete mental, physical, and social wellbeing people need to
identify and realize their aspirations to satisfy their need, or change or cope with the
environment. Health is therefore a resource for individual’s everyday life and is not an objective
of living. Therefore, it goes above individual behaviors towards a wide range of environmental
and social interventions. The responsibility of promoting and ensuring that individual is health is
for the society as a whole.
In nursing practice, the purpose of health promotion is to ensure that individuals, groups
and community access to better healthcare. Nurses have the requisite skills and knowledge to
help the members of the society to prevent diseases through various programs such as education
and sensitization. They also work with the various community members with the aim of ensuring
the people in the society access that better healthcare.
HEALTH PROMOTION IN NURSING CARE 2
Nurse’s roles and responsibilities have evolved over the years. Traditionally, the focus of
health promotion by nurses was on preventing diseases and changing the behaviors of the
individuals with respect to their health. However, these roles have continued to become more
complex because of the multidisciplinary knowledge and experience of health promotion in the
respective areas of nursing practices (Peckham, Hann & Boyce, 2011). Advancement in the
medical treatments and involvement of other stakeholders such as the religious leaders and the
other organizations have so far partnered to ensure that better health is provided. The increased
discipline and high education requirements has contributed to these changes in health promotion.
The advancement in technology and its integration has also helped to revise how health is
promoted; various researches in different areas of disease prevention have been facilitated
through these technologies leading to changes in the approaches of nursing.
Various methods of implementation for health promotion can be used. One of the
methods is through education and creating awareness about certain kinds of disease. For
instance, the government and stakeholders can carry out campaigns to educate the community
about various diseases and the reasons why they need to go and get immunization (Peckham,
Hann & Boyce, 2011). Another way of implementing is through creation of policies and statutes
that can help to address certain kind of diseases in the society. For instance, to ensure
accessibility and affordability of quality healthcare for all, the government can come up with a
policy on medical cover through legislation to help all the people gain accessibility to health care
at low cost.
The three levels, primary, secondary and tertiary are adopted in the health prevention.
These stages have some noticeable differences. Primary prevention strategies aims or emphasis
on health promotion, reduction of risk factors and other health protective measures (Mackey,
HEALTH PROMOTION IN NURSING CARE 3
Hatcher, Happell & Cleary, 2013). The strategies that are used at these stages include education
and health programs aimed to enhance quality lifestyles and environmental programs that aim to
improve environment quality. Example of these programs include, immunizing against
communicable diseases such as polio, stress management, exercise, public health education,
legislation that prohibit children to drive among many others. Secondary prevention strategies
focus on the early detection and smooth treatment of diseases. The aim is to provide treatment of
the disease, slow the progression, and reduce the impacts of the disease (Mackey, Hatcher,
Happell & Cleary, 2013). This level involves screening to find out whether an individual is
suffering from a certain disease or not. Screening aims to find out a disease at its early stage so
that appropriate medication can be administered. On the other hand, tertiary prevention
strategies aims or involves provision of rehabilitative and therapeutic measures the moment a
disease is established (Mackey, Hatcher, Happell & Cleary, 2013). Therefore, at this level, the
major aim is to help an individual come out from a situation or a health condition that one is in.
Example is the actual treatment of meningitis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes to prevent further
complication
Therefore, in summary these three levels are important in the health promotion and if
well adopted they can help enhance healthcare. Primary level is concerned with prevention of the
disease, secondary level is concerned with early detection and treatment of the diseases while
tertiary level is concerned with providing rehabilitative and therapeutic measures to ensure that
complications does not occur.
In conclusion, it is the responsibility of every individual to ensure that they have good
health. The government and other stakeholders must also do their part. Health promotion is the
way through which quality healthcare can be achieved. The nurse and other practitioners must
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ensure that they provide better quality healthcare. They should be committed to ensure that
diseases are prevented such as communication through education and training, ensure better
quality and early screening and treatment and provision of rehabilitative and therapeutic
measures to enhance the quality of health. The adoption of new technologies in healthcare can
help in delivering better healthcare if well adopted.
References
Mackey, S., Hatcher, D., Happell, B., & Cleary, M. (2013). Primary health care as a
philosophical and practical framework for nursing education: Rhetoric or reality?
Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 45(1):79-84.
Peckham, S., Hann, A., & Boyce, T. (2011). Health promotion and ill-health prevention: the role
of general practice. Quality in Primary Care, 19(5):317-323.
Watson, M. (2008). Going for gold: the health promoting general practice. Quality in Primary
Care, 16(3):177-185.