Health promotion refers to the efforts that are widely directed at empowering people to take charge of their health as well as factors that modify health outcomes. For the nurse, health promotion comprises of teaching people how to manage their illnesses. Empowering people to manage their sickness helps prevent disability from illnesses and to shorten the duration of morbidity. Today, the goal of the nurse in health promotion is also to prevent the occurrence of illness. Preventing the occurrence of illness may be achieved through immunization, community/individual education, as well as the modification of the environment and factors within it.
The patient is a known obese hypertensive who presented with a fever and an ulcer measuring two inches deep and one inch wide on the right, lower leg. The patient was on an antibiotic regimen for the treatment of cellulitis but discontinued therapy for unknown reasons. Furthermore, the patient has a generalized feeling of anxiety and feels overwhelmed by the current situation. The wound on the leg has a yellow purulent discharge and is a stage two lesion (Kumar, Abbas & Aster, 2012).
The overall objective of the health promotion activities of nurses is to improve the outcome of the patient. Specific objectives of nursing health promotion include improving adherence, equipping patients with knowledge of their illness, and facilitating patients’ care of themselves among others. In the case of the obese and hypertensive patient presenting with cellulitis, the nurse has a duty to facilitate management of the symptoms (Kumar, Abbas & Aster, 2012).Primary prevention that entails the education of the patient will facilitate the adherence to antibiotics and prevent dissemination of microorganisms to the body where they can cause complications. Secondary prevention of complications resulting from hypertension will comprise of patient education. The nurse should encourage the patient to lose weight, as obesity is a risk factor for numerous disorders as well as complications. The nurse should provide education as a health promotion measure while assisting the patient to access the necessary tools, materials, and resources to put the knowledge into practice. Furthermore, the nurse should mobilize social support as well as professional help to enhance the patient’s wellness (Kumar, Abbas & Aster, 2012).
Health promotion entails a process in which individuals take control over their health as well as factors that affect their health (Wingfield, 2011). Research suggests that the proper use of antibiotics is a critical health promotion activity in the management of cellulitis. Ideally, the administration of antibiotics should follow laboratory characterization of the pathogens responsible for cellulitis (Wingfield, 2011). On the other hand, microbial susceptibility tests should be conducted to determine the best drugs for MRSA. The patient should then be encouraged to adhere to the oral antibiotic regime. Alternatively, these drugs should be administered intravenously if the patient is uncooperative. The intervention described is a secondary health promotion activity (Wingfield, 2011).
In regards to hypertension that the patient is already being managed for, the interventions applied are secondary (Kemppainen, Tossavainen & Turunen, 2013). The health promotion activities applied in the advanced management of hypertension are within the “catalyzing change domain” whose goals are to empower individuals and communities to improve their health through various approaches (Kemppainen, Tossavainen & Turunen, 2013). Patient education and training will equip the patient with the relevant skills that they need to manage diabetes. The patient’s obesity can be managed through the provision of nutrition advice and the management of weight (Rabbitt & Coyne, 2012). This approach entails the management of the households feeding habits and physical activity levels (Rabbitt & Coyne, 2012).
References
Kemppainen, V., Tossavainen, K., & Turunen, H. (2013). “Nurses' roles in health promotion practice: an integrative review.” Health Promotion International, 28(4), 490-501.
Kumar, V., Abbas, A. K., & Aster, J. C. (2012). Robbins basic pathology. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Rabbitt, A., & Coyne, I. (2012). “Childhood obesity: nurses' role in addressing the epidemic.” British Journal of Nursing, 21(12).
Wingfield, C. (2011). “Diagnosing and managing lower limb cellulitis.” Nursing times, 108(27), 18-21.
