Health Education and Health Promotion - Essay Example

Critical analysis on health education and health promotion Name of the student Institution Instructor Date Introduction Health education and health promotion are significant paradigms that influence health care systems. The two paradigms are fundamental requirements in nursing which are closely related but not interdependent (Allegrante, Barry, Auld & Lamarre, 2012). Research has shown that most nurses use the terms interchangeably (Allegrante, Barry, Auld & Lamarre, 2012). Using the two paradigms interchangeably is professional misconception which health service delivery. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the concepts of health promotion and health education in order to create an understanding of the two paradigms. This paper seeks to compare and contrast the concepts of health promotion and health education and how they are interpreted in nursing practice. The paper will also discuss the benefits of the two paradigms for both the nurses and the wider population with improved understanding of each. The paper will analyze the two paradigms in the concepts of theoretical definition, antecedents, attributes, and outcome. The finding of this paper will enhance the body of knowledge for nurses by creating a clear conceptual framework for practical nursing related health education and health promotion practice and research. Concepts of health education and health promotion In this section, this paper will utilize various scholarly literatures to compare and contrast the concepts of health promotion and health education. The two paradigms will be discussed under the following notions of theoretical definition, antecedents, attributes, and outcome. Theoretical definition Health education refers to activities that focus on informing an individual of the nature and causes of illness or disease, and the level of risk in the context of lifestyle related behavior (Tones, Robinson & Tilford, 2013). Health education aims to motivate individuals to accept behavioral change by influencing their values, attitude, and beliefs systems. Health education is applied where it is deemed that the individual is affected or at risk of been affected by a disease or disability (Cancelliere, Cassidy, Ammendolia & Côté, 2011). Health education focuses on the individual as the key determinant of health, illness, and activity. In this context, the activities of health education are designed to impart health-related information that influences values, beliefs, attitudes, and motivations. The action also targets to achieve health- or illness-related learning through knowledge acquisition, assimilation, and dissemination (Cancelliere, Cassidy, Ammendolia & Côté, 2011). Furthermore, the activities intend to lead to skills development and modify individual’s lifestyle or behavior. The activities target individual’s level and are identifiable within a framework of activities, which range from the provision of information through to enabling processes. Health promotion, on the other hand, refers to the process by which the determinants of a disease are addressed as they affect individuals and the communities within which they interact (Leichter, 2014). Health promotion seeks to empower and transform communities radically through involving them in activities that influence their public health. Health promotion focuses on developing and reforming social structure through facilitating participation between representative stakeholders in different sectors and agencies (Leichter, 2014). Facilitation is usually done through political lobbying and advocacy, critical consciousness-raising, agenda setting and social education programs. Health promotion is an inherently political process that draws on health policies as a basis for social empowerment that lead to the collaboration of different stakeholder towards achieving health reforms (Leichter, 2014). The paradigm assumes that individuals are not always accountable or responsible for their health status. In this context, health promotion focuses on economic, ecological, cultural, and environmental factors as the primary determinant of the level of health of individuals or communities. Antecedents In Health education, the individual is perceived to be in need of health-related advice in order informed decisions on health (Tones, Robinson & Tilford, 2013). According to this paradigm, individuals values and prioritizes on matters concerning their health and thus willing to reduce or avoid any adverse health state. The model also assumes that the health professionals are equipped with adequate health related information that is sought by individuals to reduce or prevent negative health state (Sørensen et al., 2012). Health education also implies that individuals are exposed to certain healthy or unhealthy behaviors and thus health education focus on changing or modifying behaviors. In health promotion, the individual is perceived to be powerless to influence the overall health of the community. According to this paradigm, the individual values and priorities on the matter concerning health include the health of the community and are willing to take a representative role in bettering the health of the community (Mabry et al., 2013). Health promotion beliefs that community empowerment has high impact health than individuals or small group. The concept argues that a health professional is an integral part of the community tasked with supporting and setting up necessary resources for community reform (Mabry et al., 2013). The paradigm believes on the need for multi-professional and multiagency collaboration toward achieving an empowered and reformed community. Attributes The intention of health education is to change or modify health-damaging behaviors by identifying measurable risk and developing programs for preventing or avoiding them (Sharma & Romas, 2011). Another characteristic of health education is the willingness of individuals to take part in expert-driven programs of behavior change with the aim of reducing the risk of disease or illness (Sharma & Romas, 2011). On the hand, the attributes of health promotion include the desire and need to develop a community driven reforms based on social capital, cohesion, and action (Golden & Earp, 2012). Health promotion also requires the willingness of the communities to be empowered in determining their health priorities and needs (Golden & Earp, 2012). The reform must conform to the necessity of that particular community. Outcomes The results of both the health promotion and health education can be positive or negative. In health education, positive outcome occurs when individual change their behaviors toward achieving and maintaining good health (Gilmore, 2011). The results of health education affect the health behaviors of individuals usually by influencing them to adopt health practices. The negative outcome often results when health professional education is based on unsupported and unrealistic outcomes (Kemppainen, Tossavainen & Turunen, 2013). However, it is worth noting that the degree of success is dependent on individual perception and believes on change of behaviors as a method of achieving health efficacy. On the hand, outcomes of health promotion produce a myriad of activities intend to reform the community health structures toward the betterment of a healthy society. Positive results culminate from the willingness and capacity of communities by empowering the communities to self-reliant (Barnes, Wykoff, King & Petersen, 2012). Health promotion focuses on political and social factors that enable communities to prioritize their local health needs. Negative outcome occurs when health professional develop reforms that are irrelevant to a particular community, the community becomes introspective and reject the reforms (Henderson, Koehne, Verrall, Gebbie & Fuller, 2014). Benefits of adequate knowledge on health promotion and health education Both health promotion and education are essential for the betterment of individual and community health. The two paradigm benefits nurses, patients, and the community as a whole. Knowledge of the concepts of health education and health promotion allows the nurse to form a theoretical and practice framework for research and practice. The conceptual framework achieved allows the nurse to be innovative while planning patient care. The knowledge of the concepts of health education allows the nurses facilitate patient-centered care and focus on preventive measures (Rongen et al., 2013). Health education also facilitates utilization of nursing ethic by providing the patient information on the nature, cause, and risk factors. The concepts of health promotion allow the nurse to focus policy formulation and integration of the community in health care. Research shows that when individual are involved in policy formulation they become confident with health system thus improving health seeking behaviors (Wiggins, 2011). Health education allows the patient to determine health behaviors. Education on the nature, cause, and risk factors allow the patients to develop coping mechanisms and preventive measures (D’Abundo, Sidman & Heller, 2014). When clients are knowledgeable about the concepts of illnesses, they are more likely to adhere to the treatment regimens leading to a good prognosis. Health promotion facilitates community participation, which is a key determinant community focused service delivery (Rongen et al., 2013). Health promotion leads to a healthy community thus enhancing the development of the society. Summary Health promotion and health education are two different independent paradigms, which are fundamental to nursing practice. Health education is comprised of activities that focus on enlightening individuals to take charge of their health by adopting healthy behaviors. Health promotion, on the other hand, is a political process of reforming the community to take charge of their health by addressing the determinants of diseases, illnesses, or disabilities. The paradigms have a different concept in terms of theoretical definition, antecedents, attributes, and outcome. Health education considers individuals as the center for change while health promotion focuses on community empowerment as the center of change. Health education focuses on behavioral change toward achieving healthy state while health promotion focuses on radical reforms through the formulation of policies. In both paradigms, the role of nursing and health professional determines the outcomes and thus knowledge on the concepts each paradigm is essential in determining their success. However, the willingness of individuals to comply with the advice and the willingness of the community to participate in reforms are significant determinants of the outcomes. In conclusion, health promotion, and health education are two independent paradigms and, therefore, should not be used interchangeable. Knowledge of the concepts of each paradigm is the basis of a conceptual and theoretical framework, which is essential for nursing practice and research. In this context, nurses should equip themselves with adequate knowledge on health promotion and health education to achieve quality health care system. References Allegrante, J. P., Barry, M. M., Auld, M. E., & Lamarre, M. C. (2012). 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