Introduction
Traditional healthcare relies on treating diseases, but what if this approach can be refuted using a nursing middle-range theory? This description refers to Pender’s Health Promotion Model (HPM), which emphasizes the importance of preventive care in preventing disease. Specific evidence demonstrates that this model is appropriate for a Family Nursing Practitioner.
Pender’s HPM offers an effective framework for a healthcare professional to encourage healthy behaviors among individuals and families. The given framework also highlights the importance of productive collaboration among patients, families, and practitioners to achieve improved health outcomes. Furthermore, this model explains that the family is considered an effective resource that can motivate or prevent a person from engaging in healthy behaviors. Thus, it is reasonable to describe the theory, provide a detailed rationale behind selecting it, explain how it can be implemented by a Family Nurse Practitioner, and comment on potential implementation barriers.
Theory Description
Origin
Pender’s HPM is a theoretical framework developed by Nola J. Pender in the late 20th century. This model provides guidance for healthcare professionals to promote health behaviors among patients, families, and the entire community (Pender, 1990). The given theory is unique because it adopts a holistic approach and emphasizes the importance and effectiveness of preventive actions over traditional healthcare, which focuses on curing diseases after they occur.
Purpose and Scope
The model’s purpose is to explain that healthcare providers and patients should actively engage in health-promoting behaviors. The framework encourages individuals to take an active role in protecting their health and well-being. This goal is achieved because Pender’s HPM relies on preventive care, extensive education, and the establishment of supportive environments (Vakilian et al., 2021). That is why nurses can utilize this theoretical approach to encourage patients to prioritize their health.
Although the current paper discusses how the model can be applied in family nursing, the theory has a broad scope and can be used across multiple environments. For example, Pender’s HPM has proved its effectiveness in cardiovascular settings, pandemic management, and diabetic care (Faroughi et al., 2021; Madran & Ferda Ocakci, 2022; Vakilian et al., 2021). This broad scope is possible because the model draws attention to physical and psychological health and recognizes that a person’s behavior is determined by their cognitive and affective characteristics (Madran & Ferda Ocakci, 2022). That is why Pender’s HPM offers a comprehensive overview of patients and their health behaviors.
Concepts
The selected theoretical approach comprises a few key concepts. First, individual characteristics and experiences refer to traits a person has, including age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Second, cognition and effect refer to attitudes, emotions, beliefs, and thoughts that can shape health behaviors (Vakilian et al., 2021).
Third, perceived barriers and benefits are used to define what obstacles and improvements are associated with promoting health behaviors (Madran & Ferda Ocakci, 2022). These concepts can either encourage or discourage a person from adopting a healthy lifestyle. Fourth, the social and physical environment concept recognizes that a person’s healthy behavior is influenced by their family, peers, and community.
Structure
The discussed concepts are closely connected with the structure of the given theory. The four layers are in dynamic relationships with one another. This information demonstrates that health promotion is a complicated and ongoing process. That is why patients and care providers should draw attention to these concepts and their interplay to understand how they can promote healthy behaviors among patients and their families.
The model’s unique focus is associated with its emphasis on empowering patients. Pender stipulated that individuals needed sufficient motivation to engage in proper behaviors. That is why the selected theory emphasizes empowering individuals to achieve a good state of health before any disease develops (Habibzadeh et al., 2021). Consequently, Pender’s HPM indicates that nurses are expected to motivate individuals and their families to join efforts to lead healthy lifestyles.
Rationale
As has been mentioned above, Pender’s HPM can be effectively used in family nursing. On the one hand, a few peer-reviewed articles stipulate that the theory can be beneficial for families (Faroughi et al., 2021; Madran & Ferda Ocakci, 2022). On the other hand, the paper has mentioned that healthcare professionals can garner families’ support to motivate patients to engage in healthy behaviors. However, a more detailed discussion is needed to justify the selection of the theory.
Specific arguments demonstrate why Pender’s HPM can be effective in family nursing practice. The two phenomena rely on a holistic approach because family nursing emphasizes the interconnectedness of all family members, while the theory emphasizes the interplay among its structural elements. Simultaneously, the selected model highlights preventive care and health promotion. A Family Nurse Practitioner can rely on these concepts to motivate a family member to adopt a healthy lifestyle, thereby positively affecting the entire family.
Finally, empowerment is an important part of the selected theoretical approach and is essential in family nursing. Healthcare professionals can rely on this aspect to help families make informed decisions regarding their health. Thus, multiple factors create the rationale for focusing on Pender’s HPM.
Implementation Plan
It is reasonable to follow a defined plan for the introduction of Pender’s HPM in a medical department. This guide consists of four steps, described below. The first step is to assess the organizational need and readiness to implement the intervention. In this case, it is necessary to assess employees’ knowledge and skills. Interviews and questionnaires are suitable tools for collecting the required information.
Education and training should be the next step, as nurses and practitioners require specific skills and knowledge to implement the plan effectively. All nurses should be aware of Pender’s HPM and its impact on healthcare delivery. That is why regular training and educational sessions should be organized for the staff.
The third milestone is to integrate the model’s concepts and guidelines into care planning. Healthcare professionals should understand that their primary goal is to prevent disease. At this point, various prevention interventions should be developed and implemented.
The final step is to monitor and evaluate the implementation and outcomes. There should be a responsible supervisor who will provide nurses with the required assistance. Additionally, this figure will establish the final goals and ensure that all efforts are directed toward their achievement.
Barriers to Implementation
This implementation can be subject to various barriers, and it is necessary to know and be ready to overcome them. First, a significant challenge is the lack of knowledge and awareness among healthcare professionals. Appropriate educational and training sessions should be organized to ensure that all nurses understand why it is necessary to deal with Pender’s HPM. Second, resistance to change is a significant barrier because many staff members might not want to rely on new practice guidelines. In this case, it is reasonable to establish counseling sessions to make these healthcare professionals understand the multiple benefits of using the theory.
Third, time constraints can pose another important challenge that negatively affects the plan’s implementation. If nurses are given limited time to master the new practice recommendations, they will not be sufficiently motivated to cope with the task. This challenge should be considered at the planning stage to ensure that the new care delivery guidelines are implemented only after staff members have carefully understood all the theoretical information.
Conclusion
The theory application paper explains what Pender’s HPM is and why it deserves significant attention in the healthcare industry. This theoretical approach stipulates that nurses’ leading task is to prevent illness rather than cure it once it has already emerged. Nola J. Pender developed this model in the late 20th century to make the healthcare industry more effective for patients. Reliance on theoretical knowledge demonstrates that a person’s engagement in healthy behaviors depends on many factors, including individual characteristics and experiences, cognition, perceived outcomes, and the environment.
Analyzing these concepts can help nurses motivate patients and their families to lead healthier lifestyles. That is why the selected theory can be effectively used in family nursing to ensure that individuals are actively involved in health promotion and disease prevention. Furthermore, the paper presents a specific plan for implementing Pender’s HPM in a medical facility. The recommended steps can help the organization incorporate the theory into practice and address potential barriers to improving health outcomes.
References
Faroughi, F., Shahriari, M., Keshvari, M., & Shirani, F. (2021). The effect of an educational intervention based on Pender’s health promotion model on treatment adherence in the patients with coronary artery disease. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 26(3), 216-222.
Habibzadeh, H., Shariati, A., Mohammadi, F., & Babayi, S. (2021). The effect of educational intervention based on Pender’s health promotion model on quality of life and health promotion in patients with heart failure: An experimental study. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 21, 1-13.
Madran, B., & Ferda Ocakci, A. (2022). Suggestions for increasing awareness of nurses by using Pender’s Health Promotion Model and Slavin’s Effective Teaching Model in the COVID-19 pandemic process. Journal of Education and Research in Nursing and Health, 19(1), 98-102.
Pender, N. J. (1990). Expressing health through lifestyle patterns. Nursing Science Quarterly, 3(3).
Vakilian, P., Mahmoudi, M., Oskouie, F., Firouzian, A. A., & Khachian, A. (2021). Investigating the effect of educational intervention based on the Pender’s health promotion model on lifestyle and self-efficacy of the patients with diabetic foot ulcer: A clinical trial. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 10(466).