Nursing Roles in Health Promotion - Essay Example

The participation of individuals is important in determining their health, and health providers are not solely burdened to keep individuals healthy. Because nurses are involved with the direct and frequent care of clients, health promotion is important for the nurse to serve as an educator and change agent, aiding the client to achieve the best health possible.   Nursing Roles in health promotion The role of the nurse in health promotion may include various aspects, or the nurse may have several roles. Funnell, Koutoukidis, and Lawrence (2009) present that nurses can contribute to the health and social well-being of their clients by (1) recognizing there is a role for the nurse in the promotion of health and self-care; (2) participating in providing health promotion interventions; (3) being aware of key health and social factors to be considered when assessing individual needs; and (4) being aware of the contributions of other professionals to assessment and interventions (p. 71). In nursing areas of education, clinics, community, and administration, nurses nowadays are trained and encouraged in health promotion interventions. In these four areas, nurses apply the nursing process interventions to suit the needs of the clients according to and using the three levels of health promotion prevention.   Levels of Prevention The three levels of prevention are primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary prevention aims at keeping a disease from ever beginning or trauma from ever occurring; secondary prevention involves early detection and early intervention against the disease before it develops fully; and tertiary prevention takes place after a disease or injury has occurred (Jenkins & Pan American Health Organization [PAHO], 2003, pp. 6-8). An article by Hayman et al. (2007) focuses on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among children and youth in nursing practice. There is an emphasis on healthy lifestyle training during childhood, normalizing and modifying identified risk factors, reducing the risk of CVD in adulthood, and the essential role of nurses in designing and implementing strategies for CVD prevention. On the other hand, strategies for secondary prevention of stroke were divided into control of medical conditions that predispose to stroke and advice on lifestyle factors (Allison et al., 2008, pp. 355-356). Tertiary prevention is exemplified by rehabilitative interventions for hip fractures, especially among the elderly. Mak, Cameron, and March (2010) have recommended some changes in surgery, rehabilitation, and tertiary prevention in hip fracture treatment to achieve the best outcomes (p. 37).   Health promotion has been used in different settings, and health providers have patterned care delivery according to the levels of health promotion prevention. Nurses also use interventions according to these levels to help clients achieve optimum health. The cited articles present how each level differs and how they are applied. Read More