Analysis of the Concept of Health Promotion - Essay Example

Conceptual Analysis Health Promotion Introduction: concept and definition One of the most significant concepts in nursing is health promotion, which refers to the aspect of encouraging individuals and the society to embrace and maintain lifestyle habits that enhance their state of well being. This essay therefore aims to provide more insight on the analysis of the concept of health promotion. Purpose The aim of the analysis is to outline the usefulness of health promotion as a concept and at the same time explore its values as well some of its critical attributes. Similarly, this essay aims to shed more light on some of the implications of health promotion to the field of nursing. Goals and Assumptions The main goal of health promotion is to ascertain that the well-being of a given community is upheld by routinely adhering to a healthy lifestyle. One of the major assumptions of the concept is that individuals are responsible for the kind of life that they embrace. Similarly, the concept assumes that the body can become to its own doctor when subjected to a healthy diet and a good way of life. Uses of Concepts The core intention of health promotion is capacity building, as it serves to empower all the interested parties with every information they need to know about upholding a healthy lifestyle. This would result into transforming the community in question into a healthy one (Clark & Paraska, 2014). Related Concepts According to (Linsley et al, 2011), health promotion is much better than health education. This is majorly because health education revolves around providing information to interested entities while health promotion tends to focus on altering the social, economic as well as the political aspects of the life of an individual. This in return provides the interested party with an encouraging environment, which comes in handy in making sure that an individual experiences personal, socio-economic and professional growth. Similarly, (Linsley et al, 2011) introduces a new perspective into the practice of nursing by arguing that overtime, nurses in education, research and practice, have advised patients on how to manage diseases and several health conditions once they arise. It is their perception however that this trend is yet to change, as health promotion interventions enlighten the people on how to remain healthy. Defining Criteria The critical attributes of health promotion, refers to the aspects of the campaign that have to be factored in before beginning the entire process, as they make sure that the concept is efficiently carried out. The first critical attribute is participation, implying that entities that have shown interest in health promotion need to be present, and must be willing to take part in the health promotion process. The participants will range from healthcare providers to members of the community (Raingruber, 2014). Apart from the participants, the interested parties should customarily find multiple methods through which to oversee the entire process of health promotion as health promotion campaigns assimilates more than one discipline. Over and above, a health promotion campaign should be adequately planned for that would ensure that the implementation is easy and that the whole campaign is sustainable. A valuation process should be highlighted with the purpose of determining how well the campaign was carried out. Antecedents In the past, various organizations have created many products aimed at ensuring health of individuals. Similarly, practicing nurses have overtime been required to initiate mechanisms aimed at treating various health conditions. Health promotion campaigns therefore present a balance in shift, as it involves prevention by embracing a healthy way of life. Consequences If properly carried out, the process of health promotion can bring about positive results. Implying that a community, which embraces all the aspects of health promotion, will continue will have their well-being assured for a considerable duration. On the other hand, entities that do not embrace the healthy way of life as stipulated by health promotion campaigns will find themselves highly susceptible to several non-communicable health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and cancer (Raingruber, 2014). The fact that the WHO attributes the high incidence of non-communicable conditions such as diabetes to change in lifestyle from the traditional way of life to the modern mechanisms, implies that health promotions are in essence offering people an easy way out. Case Development Most of the health promotion cases encourage the creation of supportive environments, and change in lifestyle notably by encouraging healthy behaviour. As discussed in the section above, any health promotion case would be aimed towards the primary prevention of diseases and at the same time remind patients to be responsible for their health. Model The health promotion case study mentioned above, would be developed based on the health promotion model, which focuses on carrying out research to identify the most appropriate mechanism to be employed, educating interested parties as well as encouraging them to embrace some of the recommended strategies (Clark & Paraska, 2014). The research process is of great significance, as it enables the assessors to determine both the ecological approach of the community, and how individuals who live in it interact with the environment. In as much as most of the recommendations suggested by the assessors is often based on the priorities of the individuals within a given community, most of them are normally hinged on doing away with unhealthy foods and incorporating foods that are high on nutrients such as fruits, vegetables, fibre and cereals. Similarly, the cases normally encourage continuous physical activities and normally involve planning, implementation, evaluation and sustainability (Raingruber, 2014). Contrary Practices that do not go in line with the case include consumption of alcohol and drugs, as well as consumption of foods that are low on nutrients but high on cholesterol. Related In as much as health production emphasizes on behaviour change and embracing a healthy way of life, it is broad as it also incorporates other aspects of individual life such as the economic and social mechanisms. Borderline Before tests are done to confirm a given health condition, the patients normally go through a borderline stage. This model can be embraced by those in the stage to reduce their chances of suffering from complications brought about by the condition. Illegitimate Under normal circumstances, it would be unlawful for the nurses and healthcare experts to use some of the information they acquire in the course of the health promotion for other unspecified reasons. Empirical Indicators Given that health promotion campaigns are aimed towards ensuring the well-being of individuals or a given community, its empirical indicators would be variables that show how healthy the population in question is. In situations where preventive mechanisms were employed, the indicators would be reduced incidence of various health conditions, notably the non-communicable ones such as obesity, cancer and diabetes (Raingruber, 2014). Similarly, in situations where the patient would be at a borderline, the indicators would be reduced incidences of complications brought about by the health conditions. Cardiovascular related disorders as well as renal failure are examples of the conditions. Impacts on Nursing As mentioned in the section above, nursing has mainly been revolving around the concept of treating various health conditions. The ideology of health promotions on the other hand will call on nurses to take particular interest on prevention of diseases, as it will touch on the lifestyle of the parties involved, instead of making inference based on the signs and symptoms that a particular patient exhibits (Raingruber, 2014). In an ideal world, nurses are tasked with the responsibility of monitoring the level of patient illness, and to educate patients and the public on the management of given conditions. Health promotion will revolutionize the practice of nursing, as it will demand that nurses stay ahead of health conditions. References Clark, C. C., & Paraska, K. (2014). Health promotion for nurses: A practical guide. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Duquesne University. Linsley, P., Kane, R., & Owen, S. (2011). Nursing for Public health: promotion, principles, and practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Raingruber, B. (2014). Contemporary health promotion in nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Read More