Review of Literature Essay

Submitted By winsome22
Words: 978
Pages: 4

For thousands of years advancements have been made in the prevention and treatment of diseases and ailments, causing medicine to evolve into what it is today. Throughout this time our knowledge and understanding has vastly grown along with our improvements in technology. Historically disease prevention has been the main approach to public safety, by means of attempting to eradicate contagious pathogens such as smallpox and polio (Edelman, C., 2010). It was initially believed that quality health was obtained through the absence of disease. It has only been in the last few decades, that a shift towards preventative medicine and health promotion has been made. In the textbook Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span Edelman and Mandle define health promotion as “The process of advocating health in order to enhance the probability that personal (individual, family, and community), private (professional and business), and public (federal, state, and local government) support of positive health practices will become a societal norm” (Edelman, C., 2010). The process of meeting this objective is by implementing the steps in promoting health. The three levels of health promotion as defined in the text are first to promote health through education (primary prevention), second step includes early screening, prompt treatment and disability limitation (secondary prevention), and third step is restoration and rehabilitation (tertiary prevention) (Edelman, C., 2010). This paper will discuss health promotion and it’s tertiary levels, the purpose of health promotion in nursing practice, and implementation methods and nursing roles and responsibilities in health promotion.
The primary level of health promotion is geared towards enhancing health through education. The nurses take on an active role in educating patients and their families of risk factors that may contribute to various diseases and disabilities. Nurses should also educate patients on immunizations against pathogens, and ways for decreasing susceptibility against preventable conditions. Nurses can play a vital part in educating patients on dietary and activity modifications to help control and reduce the risk of developing diseases such as coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity. According to one journal “Incorporating evidence-based practice into the clinical setting is necessary if maximum patient outcomes are to be achieved” (Mann, K. 2011). It is important to create awareness of the affects of biological, environmental, and psychological stressors that may impact a persons health and wellbeing. Nurses are responsible for assessing a persons risk factors and providing evidence based education to help promote patients to lead a healthier lifestyle. It is important that healthcare providers provide the necessary information to help patients take a more active role in their health and lifestyle habits (Edelman, C., 2010).
The aim of primary health promotion is to provide education to the community on ways to decrease risk factors that may lead to illness. The secondary level of health promotion is geared toward encouraging healthy lifestyle habits such as; screening and diagnostic tests to help identify medical conditions in an early detectable stages (Edelman, C., 2010). One of the advantages of screening is that it often allows for less invasive forms of testing and treatment to be implemented. Glucose tolerance test, and hemoglobin A1C are two examples of screening that can be performed to help identify a person at risk for being diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (Caple, C., 2013). Diabetes Mellitus is a major concern across the nation, and if poorly managed may lead to many serious complications. Early screening allows for an important opportunity to make lifestyle modifications, to help reduce risk and possible reversal of this diagnosis. A nurse can play a key role in educating patients on reducing dietary intake of foods high in