Introduction
According to the Nola Pender’s Model of Health Promotion, a person’s past behavior affects their beliefs about the effects and depiction of health-promoting behaviors. This paper applies the model to influence changes in an identified patient’s risky behavior. It shows that recognizing and understanding the patient’s perception of obesity and diabetes mellitus is paramount. It also expresses the patient’s need for being involved in the change process in a personal way. This is achievable through consistent communication and direct involvement (Abdi, Eftekhar, Estebsari, & Sadeghi, 2015).
Explanation of how the model will be used to influence changes in patient’s risk behaviors
The first step in applying the Nola Pender’s Model of Health Promotion is to present avenues that allow the patient to be receptive of the suggested changes. The second step would be the reinforcement of positive beliefs towards prescribed behaviors. This step should lead to the first outcome, where the patient becomes motivated and shows commitment to the treatment.
In practical terms, the first step would be to help the 21 years-old patient to identify people who are close to him. The model notes that a patient should recognize personal beliefs about the people in their life. The existing relationships have the potential of being perceived as barriers to health improvement. Therefore, once the patient identifies people who are close to him, such as a spouse or parents, he should be taken through a series of questions to determine whether he sees them as enablers or barriers of his intention to improve his health.
The next practical step is to identify the steps-to-action required for positive health outcomes. This exercise is done in cooperation with the patient. According to the identified risk factors of the patient, being fit and stopping the use of tobacco and alcohol are the main actions required for health improvement. It would be important to evaluate the neighborhood where the patient lives to know whether it helps him to adopt an exercising routine. If not, the patient should be advised to change his residence and pick an area that has many people who show healthy habits, such as jogging frequently. Living in an area where exercising is the norm makes the patient have an easier time of moving past the perceived barriers of changing (DeGuzman & Kulbok, 2012).
The patient needs support as he begins taking action. One source of support would be publications about other people who have succeeded in dealing with the same symptoms and risk factors. This is a practical application of the model because positive findings from research and health publications would help the patient develop confidence and gain courage (Im & Chang, 2012). According to the Nola Pender’s Model of Health Promotion, this approach will lay the foundation for the patient to improve his commitment to treatment.
Personal factors, which include interpersonal and situational influences, affect a patient’s commitment to a plan of action. Kemppainen et al. (2011) recommend working with relationship and family factors when using the promotion of health model. The factors include socioeconomic circumstances, such as the availability or lack of employment. After talking to the patient on a repeated basis, his neighbors and friends who are close would also be asked to talk to him so that he stops his tobacco and alcohol use. Emphasis would be on the use of a non-judgmental conversational approach that supports the patient’s need for privacy and respect. This activity would improve the patient’s interpersonal environment and cause him to embrace the desired changes in his behavior (McCurry, Revell, & Roy, 2010).
The patient would be asked to report on changes in his symptoms as a way of encouraging commitment to new behavior, while being informed by a health professional about the expected changes (Newcomb, 2010). In conclusion, as the practical approaches show, the intervention would be supportive and recognize the patient’s willingness to embrace new, healthy behavior.
References
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DeGuzman, P. B., & Kulbok, P. A. (2012). Changing health outcomes of vulnerable populations through nursing’s influence on neighborhood built environment: a framework for nursing research. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 44(4), 341-348. Web.
Im, E.-O., & Chang, S. J. (2012). Current trends in nursing theories. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 44(4), 156-164. Web.
Kemppainen, J., Bomar, P. J., Kikuchi, K., Kanematsu, Y., Ambo, H., & Noguchi, K. (2011). Health promotion behaviors of residents with hypertension in Iwate, Japan and North Carolina, USA.Japan Journal of Nursing Science, 8(1), 20-32. Web.
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