Health Promotion - Assignment Example

Also, chronic diseases account for 75% of the national health budget. Prevention of chronic diseases, therefore, not only improves the health of the community but also reduces healthcare spending. There are a lot of health challenges associated with old age. Most degenerative and non-communicable diseases are prevalent among the elderly population, affecting mostly those living in low socioeconomic settings (Thakur, Banerjee & Nikumb, 2013). Furthermore, the authors note that health in old age is related to health earlier in life.

For instance, intrauterine growth retardation has been shown to increase the risk of diabetes and diseases of the circulatory system later in life. Also, obese children are more likely to develop chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes among others. As a result, elderly people face a lot of health challenges that should be addressed to improve their quality of life. In the case of AK, the most easily identifiable health problem is unintentional weight loss, attributable to the recent appetite loss.

He reports that he takes a glass of wine before going to bed and also smokes 0.25 packs of cigarette a day for the past six months. An analysis of his social history reveals that he has been having trouble sleeping, and experiences daytime somnolence. The patient also has several chronic diseases that are being treated, including hypertension (ICD-9 401-405), osteoarthritis (ICD-9 715.09) and cataracts (ICD-9 366). Several interventions can be made for AK’s condition, covering primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention.

They include: At the primary prevention level, AK should incorporate certain behavior changes into his daily life. First, he needs to ensure that he is more physically active. He says that he enjoys gardening at home, which is a good form of exercise. However, his recent accident indicates that he should not do the gardening alone. High resistance physical