Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Paper

Health promotion has many varied meanings depending on the individual or the groups being assessed. In the past, health has been seen as a state of not being ill or being disease free (Edelman & Mandle 2010).  Current trends in healthcare are moving to a prevention model. This paper will define health promotion and its interventions, along with the nurse’s roles and responsibilities. The three levels of health promotion: primary, secondary and tertiary prevention will be described with a comparison of three current journal articles relating to diabetes.

There are many different definitions of health promotion, but the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health promotion “ as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health.  It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior to a wide range of social and environmental interventions” (WHO 2013).  To have success in health promotion individuals must take control and assume responsibility for their own health and lives.  

The purpose of health promotion is to educated individuals on what are healthy lifestyles and enlighten individuals that they are the ones who must gain control of their lives, which will directly affect their health.  Health promotion is also one of the best ways to battle the high cost of healthcare (Edelman & Mandle 2010).  Health promotion is utilized by the government, community organizations, and on a personal level in communities by providing education (Edelman & Mandle 2010).

The nurse’s role and responsibilities in relation to health promotion is through education.  Careful attention must be paid to the individual’s cultural influences in addition to the nurse’s own cultural influences and insure that cultural competence is adhered (Edelman & Mandle 2010).  The nurse’s role and responsibilities in relation to health promotion is through education.  Careful attention must be paid to the individual’s cultural influences in addition to the nurse’s own cultural influences and insure that cultural competence is adhered.

In today’s ever changing workplace, nurses have unlimited employment opportunities where they can educate individuals and communities.  For example, if the nurse is caring for a patient in the hospital setting, the nurse should use all opportunities to advocate and educate for the individual and their family on health promotion.  If the nurse’s focus is in the community, the focus should be on educating individuals or groups on health promotion and giving the tools and information needed for the individual or groups to seek out healthy lifestyle choices.  Research is another area where new and advanced evidenced-based best practices, are just one of the roles (Edelman & Mandle 2010).  There are many opportunities for nurses in many different settings and it’s the nurse’s responsibility to collaborate with other disciplines in healthcare to educate individuals or communities to improve their lifestyles through health promotion.