From the GCU Library, select and review three recent (published within the 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 the three articles you have selected for this assignment. Address the following:
How is health promotion defined?
What is the purpose of health promotion in nursing practice?
How are nursing roles and responsibilities evolving in health promotion?
Explain the implementation methods for health promotion that encompasses all areas of nursing.
Compare the three levels of health promotion prevention.
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Health promotion in nursing
All the population requires better healthcare as health therefore is a fundamental need. Health promotion entails procedures and measures geared at increasing and improving people control over their own health (Watson, 2008). Health promotion also ensures that people achieve complete state of physical, mental, and social wellbeing by identifying, satisfying their need, and being receptive to changes in the environment. Health is essential and a resource that requires pursuit and improvement every day of people live. This calls for individual, community, and environmental interventions. The paper delineates on various articles with the aim of understanding the concept of health promotions based on various levels of health promotion.
In nursing, the major role of health promotion is to ensure that individuals and society get accessibility to quality healthcare. Nurses have the obligation to participate in healthcare by ensuring that members of the society adopt appropriate preventive measures through creation of awareness and education about different kinds of diseases Watson, 2008). Furthermore, they must work closely with the members of the society to ensure that community access to better health.
As time changes, so do the roles and the responsibilities of the nurses. In the yester years, nurses focused more on diseases prevention and behavior change aimed at fostering health care. However, according to Peckham, Ham & Boyce (2011), these roles have continued to change and evolve and even become complex due to the multidisciplinary experience and knowledge of health promotion in various areas in nursing practice. Medical treatment has advanced through research and other stakeholders such as church leaders have gained more interests in healthcare affecting health care promotion and provision. Furthermore, the increased areas of studies in nursing and requirements to advance in education has also affected or impacted on health promotion. Furthermore, advancement in technology because of advanced research has also impacted on provision of health care. The quality of healthcare has improved and as well, the need for more training on the part of nurses has become crucial. These changes have also demanded the changes in nursing approaches.
Health promotion implementation takes various methods. One of the methods is establishing of appropriate policies and statutes to address various kinds of disease. A good example of statutes and policies include medical cover aimed at reducing the cost of accessing to health care. Such policies may be debated in the parliament before implementation. Another way is through education and creation of awareness on various diseases and ways of prevention. For instance, the government can run campaigns on preventing communicable diseases such as polio through various media (Peckham, Ham & Boyce, 2011).
Primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of health promotion ensure quality care. The levels have noticeable differences but work in unison to impact on the overall quality of healthcare. Primary level aims to reduce the risks and concerns preventive measures (Mackey, Hatcher, Happell & Cleary, 2013). Various strategies employed at this level to impact on healthcare includes, educating the members of the public on how to avoid health complications. The health programs aims at creating awareness on how certain diseases can be managed through certain measures. For instance, the government may carry out campaigns to sensitize the members of the pubic on the importance of immunizations, not driving while drank among many others. Secondary level on the other hand lays emphasis on early detection and smooth treatment of the diseases. At this level, the nurses aim to treat the disease, slow its progression and as well reduce the disease impact (Mackey, Hatcher, Happell & Cleary, 2013). Therefore, screening is carried out to determine the level of the disease and to establish the early stages of the disease to administer appropriate medication. Tertiary is the last level of preventive strategy involving rehabilitative and therapeutic measures the moment a disease is established. The major concern is to get the patient out of the situation of health condition. Example is providing treatment for persons with diabetes to deter further complication, meningitis among many others.
It is therefore apparent that, these three levels of health promotion play a key role in health. They are very critical in ensuring that the health condition of the people overall is maintained. Primary level aims to prevent diseases, secondary level ensures early detection and treatment while tertiary level allows provision of therapeutic and rehabilitative measures to ensure that any complications does not occur.
In conclusion, health care is the responsibility of every person. Likewise, nurses, government, and other stakeholders must endeavor to play their roles diligently in promoting health. The individual and society health is deemed to improve through health promotion. The three levels of health preventive play critical role in health promotion and should always be followed. Primary level ensures that measures are in place to deter occurrence of diseases. Through education and sensitization, the members of public become aware of various preventive measures. Secondary measures also do matters especially when screening is done early and treatment provided. Likewise, rehabilitative and therapeutic measures promote health. New technologies need proper utility to enhance and promote health care.
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.