Levels of Health Promotion in Nursing Practice

Running head: Health promotion review Name Course University Lecturer Date Review on health promotion in nursing practice Health promotion engages the process of enabling people to increase their control over, and to improve health (WHO). This idea of health promotion is not just straight forward as simply giving people the correct information and telling them how to eat right , get exercise ,see doctor when ill and quit smoking or drink less. However, it has come to the professionals` attention that it entails more than just giving information in order to improve the health of the public. It is actually quite difficult to ask people to change their behaviors because sometimes even the communities in which they live make it even more difficult for them to change their unhealthy behaviors. Furthermore, the people may be willing but the environment in which they live cannot allow hen to do the same. For instance, a person may wish to go out to exercise but the neighborhood is unsafe for people to move around alone. The practice of health promotion ideally recognizes these kinds of difficulties. It is better equipped to assist people helping them improve their health and well being. The nurses engaged in the health promotion attempt to adopt a holistic and broader view of health that concentrates on all the influences of behaviors, including the individuals, their families and the communities as well as situations in which they live (Ministry of health, 2005). This has been carried out through research, which has helped in understanding the health issues affecting the communities and the circumstances that create such issues. The health promotion also requires an understanding of how social policies like rules and laws and community structures like schools and churches can embrace change and be used to support positive health in communities. Some of the responsibilities of the nurse in promoting health could be providing assessment and treatment as the first point of contact especially for mental health clients within a primary health setting. They can also refer the clients on to the local community health care canters. Furthermore, for those with mental illnesses nurses can integrate care within the primary setting that involves a culture change. Most of nurses` health promotion practices are governed by biomedically determined methods (Dean, 2003). The biomedical models of health focuses on medically determined negative indicators and outcomes of health like the ill health, illnesses as opposed to wider determinants of health such a client`s social well being. Furthermore, most of the nursing models appear to favor the traditional health education approach rather than health promotion ones. The three main levels of health promotion are primary health care, secondary health and the tertiary health care. The primary health promotion involves preventions mechanism. This level applies ...