Significant changes are required in health care, and the profession of nursing in particular, to meet the mandates required by the 2010 passage of healthcare reform laws. Such new options for illness prevention and wellness through health promotion will provide greater opportunities for nurses to work outside the traditional hospital settings. Nurses are best equipped to provide safe, quality, patient-centered care in an affordable and accessible manner. Appropriate use of primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotion strategies, including health risk modification education, individual treatment regiments to achieve maximized health, and use of disease and dysfunction treatments and modification strategies to improve function and well-being are important all through the treatment lifecycle (Jones-Parker, 2012).
Health promotion
According to a 2010 CDC report, as of 2005, nearly 50% of all adults have at least one chronic disease. The most prevalent, widespread, and expensive health problems in the United States (heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis) could be prevented by reducing health-hazardous behaviors such as inactivity, poor nutrition, tobacco consumption, and excessive use of alcohol. Less than 66% of adults participate in the minimum physical activity listed in the “2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans”. Less than 25% of Americans eat the minimum recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Obesity afflicts 33% of adults and 20% of school age children. Lung cancer is still the leading cancer related death in this country, but 20% of Americans still smoke. Alcohol consumption and binge drinking is reported by over one third of high school students. Health promotion, especially in the nursing practice, could significantly reduce these modifiable behaviors, which are responsible for the suffering, ill-health, and premature deaths in our country today.
Health promotion is the
References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2010) Chronic disease prevention and health promotion. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/index.htm. Darling, M Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2011). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Jones-Parker, H Zhang, X., Luo, H., Gregg, E., Mukhtar, Q., Rivera, M., Barker, L., & Albright, A. (2010). Obesity prevention and diabetes screening at local health departments. American Journal Of Public Health, 100(8), 1434-1441.