Overview
Health promotion is one of the critical activities of the modern healthcare sector. The term implies the process of enabling people to improve their health and increase control of their well-being (Fortune et al., 2020). However, regarding the scope of current challenges, health promotion implies various social and environmental interventions aimed at assisting people in their attempts to enhance their states and eliminate factors that might have a negative influence on the state of communities. Under these conditions, the given activity plays a fundamental role in the healthcare sector.
Barriers to Health Promotion
Unfortunately, some barriers to health promotion influence the process and its outcomes. These include:
- poverty rates,
- cultural norms affecting health behaviors,
- low awareness
- lack of health literacy
- lack of access to healthy food
- limited availability of health resources (Fortune et al., 2020)
The given barriers are critical regarding the attempts to align effective health promotion practices and improve the nation’s wellbeing. Their elimination acquires the top priority as it will create the basis for achieving better results in the future.
Nurses’ Influence on Health Promotion
Moreover, nurses can be viewed as specialists who can help to overcome these barriers and influence health promotion for communities. They can perform diverse promotion tasks by assessing the individual and community needs, the current state of awareness, education, and access to resources (Phillips 2019). Evaluating these factors, nurses can create the basis for future improvement, implying addressing these requirements and fulfilling communities’ and individuals’ needs (Barry, 2021). It will lead to a reduced number of chronic diseases, premature deaths, or treatment costs (Phillips 2019). Under these conditions, nurses play a central role in health promotion activities.
Strategies to Ensure Equity and Inclusion
At the same time, it is vital to ensure equity and inclusion while working with populations. It will promote covering broader populations and better outcomes. For this reason, nurses can use several strategies to achieve the given goal:
- Create a sense of belonging
- Engage individuals in decision making
- Encourage sharing
- Offer education for individuals
- Foster intercommunity collaboration
- Encourage mutual support (Iriarte-Roteta et al., 2020)
Employing these strategies in practice, nurses can ensure that numerous community members will be involved in health promotion activities and acquire the chance to enhance their well-being.
Monitoring
Health promotion interventions should also be monitored to introduce necessary changes if needed. The given task can also be performed by nurses who work with communities and individuals. First, the alterations in the state of communities or individuals can be recorded (Phillips 2019). It will help to conclude about the effectiveness of a particular measure by comparing results at different periods. Second, a nurse can communicate directly with clients to acquire information about the result of a specific health promotion intervention (Barry, 2021). It will also discover if any changes are needed to make it more effective.
Outcomes Influenced by Nurses
By monitoring health promotion interventions, nurses can also influence specific outcomes and improve the nation’s health. First, they can reduce the number of chronic diseases by increasing health awareness (Barry, 2021). Second, new healthy behaviors might be promoted and lead to better results (Phillips 2019). Third, the community’s engagement in health issues can be increased (Barry, 2021). Fourth, nurses might be responsible for patients’ timely asking for medical care due to the increased awareness (Phillips 2019). Finally, the overall state of a community might be viewed as a health promotion outcome influenced by a nurse.
Health Promotion Influence
In such a way, health promotion becomes a fundamental process with numerous positive impacts. First, it aligns improved cooperation between a care provider and communities, which is vital for attaining current goals. Second, the process helps to address the most relevant problems and start looking for resources needed for its resolution. It means that individuals can expect increased attention for their current issues and discuss how to address them. Finally, health promotion influences clients’ behaviors and promotes their reconsideration.
Equity and Inclusion
As is has already been stated, health promotion also implies guaranteeing equity and inclusion for all population groups. It means that a nurse should focus on working with all individuals and eliminating barriers to promoting better health outcomes. Inclusion can be cultivated by eliminating existing disparities and engaging in direct cooperation with minorities characterized by poor access to health services or care. It ensures that the most problematic areas are covered, and there are no grounds for discrimination.
Monitoring and Outcomes
Altogether, it is possible to conclude that health promotion is a critical process vital for improving the health of the nation. However, it should be monitored to ensure the appropriate changes are needed and the most relevant issues are addressed. It can be made by using nurses’ records about the interventions’ outcomes and the changes in communities and needs existing at the moment. It will help to promote numerous positive outcomes, such as the emergence of new healthy behaviors, reducing chronic diseases rates, better population health, and a lower number of premature deaths. In such a way, health promotion becomes a critical aspect of the modern healthcare sector. It promotes the better health of the nation and creates the basis for well-being.
References
Barry, M. M. (2021). Transformative health promotion: what is needed to advance progress?Global Health Promotion, 28(4), 8–16. Web.
Fortune, K., Becerra-Posada, F., Buss, P., Galvão, L., Contreras, A., Murphy, M., Rogger, C., Keahon, G. E., & de Francisco, A. (2018). Health promotion and the agenda for sustainable development, WHO Region of the Americas.Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 96(9), 621–626. Web.
Iriarte-Roteta, A., Lopez-Dicastillo, O., Mujika, A., Ruiz-Zaldibar,C., Hernantes, N., Bermejo-Martins,E., Pumar-Mendez, M. (2020). Nurses’ role in health promotion and prevention: A critical interpretive synthesis.Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(21), 3937-3949. Web.
Phillips A. (2019). Effective approaches to health promotion in nursing practice.Nursing Standard, 34(4), 43–50. Web.