Theory of Health Care - Essay Example

Running Head Theorist Paper Theorist Paper Nola J. Pender has made a great contribution to the theory of health promotion and primary care settings. Pender explains that the family is often expressed as being 'the basic unit of society'. It more probably should be considered as a specialized element which serves society in a variety of ways and depends upon society for its stability. Families do not exist in a social vacuum but are partly determined by the culture which surrounds them (Health Promotion Model n.d.).

Pender underlines that community participation in health care and maintenance of healthy life style is crucial for health promotion initiatives. "Health Promotion and Disease Prevention should be the primary focus in health care and specific services reimbursed through health insurance coverage" (Pender 2006). Pender underlines that community programs should support all areas of health promotion and healthcare system in general. "New and evolving computer technologies will enable health professionals to assess individuals effectively as a basis for personalized interventions" (Pender 2006).

Nurses, because of their commitment to care for people with health needs, must take transitions, and the family's definition of that transition, into account when assessing patients or clients and planning nursing intervention. Pender considers the family to be both inward and outward looking. She observed that the family had internalized values and traditions that it exists to nurture its members, only to release them into society, where in future it would recreate itself. She also emphasizes that society both reflects change in families and that society effects change upon families over time in a feedback loop.

Pender states: "We cannot continue to let people become ill when we have the means to keep many people well" (Pender 2006). Pender underlines importance of regular medical examinations for infants and aged family members. This phase in the process of family nursing must necessarily be undertaken with the family, and is a way of validating with them the effect of any changes agreed upon or actions taken. Where progress has clearly been made, it may be helpful for the nurse to remind the family where they have come from, in order to further encourage their efforts.

The majority of medical staff suppose that the family context is considered when planning and implementing care for the individual (Pender, 2006). The correlation between a person and health concepts is demonstrated in relation to psychosocial transitions in which nurses interact with families. Pender states that there is further consideration of the professional and ethical issues raised by nursing. In health care, a crucial role in played by a person and his/her attitude towards his health.

This emphasizes the dynamic nature of family interaction and the cyclical nature of the nursing process. Those medical staff working in community settings would clearly identify the family as partners in providing care, but there is a tendency to provide support to members of the family in order to ensure continuity of care for the original patient/client, i.e. viewing the careers as a resource for community care, rather than viewing the family as client (Langford 2003). Quality health care together with the move out of institutions that required nurses and families with health problems to work more closely together.

Health promotion has been described as an inescapable part of human development. It may be experienced as an expected and welcome transition or as an overwhelming threat of crisis proportions. Any transition affecting an individual has some effect on the lives of his or her family members. Health needs are frequently related to transitions. "The primary goal of health protection is the removal or avoidance of encumbrances throughout the lifecycle that may prevent the emergence of optimum health (Langford 2003).

The potential for the demands of the health problems to become the major focus of concern in the family, distracting attention from already troubled relationships and adversely affecting family functioning;. Pender underlines that there is the necessity for families and individual members of community to learn to assert themselves effectively in their interaction with other systems such as hospital an health care, school, social work and their own work setting. References1. Health Promotion Model. (N.d.). Retrieved from 14 October 2007, from http://www.nursing.umich.

edu/faculty/pender/chart.gif 2. Langford, D.R. (2003). Family Health Protection. Retrieved from 14 October 2007, from http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/samplechapters/ch12.pdf.3. Pender, N. (2006). MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HEALTH PROMOTION MODEL AND MY PROFESSIONAL WORK AND CAREER. Retrieved from 14 October 2007, from http://www.nursing.umich.edu/faculty/pender/pender_questions.html