Healthy People 2020 Health Promotion

Not ever before has health promotion been more vital than it is today. Health promotion is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health. It travels beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a widespread range of social and environmental interventions. Health promotion is the fundamental center of nursing practice and research. Nursing activities frequently involve assessment of individuals, families and communities and planning, implementing, and evaluating intervention programs. In the healthcare setting nurses use a technique known as evidence-based practicing. This helps the nurse understand through facts what should be done and exactly how it should be done when it comes to promoting

health.
Goals of Healthy People 20/20
Healthy People 2020 has a vision: a society in which all people live long, healthy lives.

Most if not all, of us can agree with that statement. Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Their mission is to attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death. They strive to achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups. Healthy People will create social and physical environments that promote good health for all, and promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. Through evidence-based practice and strong statistics on its side Healthy People has a strong lead already.

Healthy People 2020 knows how to implicate the role of a nurse in health promotion activities. This is because nurses recognize that promoting wellness and healthy lifestyles are key to eliminating the unequal burden of disease. Nurses are at the head of patient care but most importantly nurses are the foundation of patient teaching presently. In the past the focus of nursing may have been on treating an illness, and making the patient feel well again. Going forward the focus is geared toward patient teaching. The more the nurse can teach their patient about health and well-being the less room for

illness.
Prevention Levels
In me the medical world there are known to be three levels of prevention.

The levels are known as Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. Primary prevention is designed to prevent a disease or condition (such as lung cancer), from occurring in the first place. An example of a primary prevention for lung cancer is protecting the lungs from toxins in the air by decreasing exposure to air pollution. Poor air quality is linked to premature death, cancer, and long-term damage to respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Secondary prevention attempts to detect a disease at its earliest stage so that prompt and appropriate management can be initiated. Successful secondary prevention reduces the effect of the disease. An example of a secondary prevention related to air pollution is a person with respiratory symptoms, sees their physician for COPD, allowing treatment to begin at an early stage. Like getting set up for a PFT (pulmonary function test) to detect COPD in its early stages. Tertiary prevention focuses on reducing the consequence of a disease once it has developed. The goal of tertiary prevention is to eliminate, or at least delay, the onset of complications and disability due to the disease. Primary prevention is particularly important when it comes to environmental health. People spend most of their time at home, work, or school. Some of these environments may expose people to indoor air pollution, or inadequate heating and sanitation. Maintaining healthy homes and communities is

crucial to environmental health.
Prevention is the key factor to the steps involved in a health promotion activity. One step involved in a health promotion activity for environmental health is to quit smoking. This major change will have a massive effect for patients that suffer from respiratory illness due to poor air quality. The student shall teach their patient about the benefits of quitting smoking by sharing knowledge and educating the patient on tobacco cessation. Quitting smoking will make a huge difference to the rate at which a disease progresses. While the damage already done to your airways cannot be reversed, stopping smoking helps to prevent the progression of the condition.
There are a few different type of learning style techniques that can be used by the nurse to demonstrate teaching. There are three main types of learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Teaching about environmental health and its impact on the human body will require a more visual approach. The nurse can show pictures of blackened lungs due to chronic smoking. The nurse may also use pictures of individuals who suffer from COPD that require an oxygen tank to help them breathe. These are great example nurses must continue to educate their patients.
One can learn many things by simply reading. After researching and reading up on health promotion, the student has a clear sense of what is expected of the role of the nurse and health promotion. A nurse’s job will always begin and end with teaching. The student may can now define the different levels of prevention and apply that knowledge to the real world setting. Most of all, nursing is an art of teaching that takes time, diligence, and