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Health Promoting Behaviors
Health promoting behaviors by healthcare professionals could help in promoting the quality of life of people. Nola Pender discussed Health Promotion Model (HPM) in 1996 that was facilitating the determination of health promoting behaviors. The model provided the theoretical framework and showed the importance of perceptions about activity on individual behavior. It had three interrelating categories along with ten determinants influencing the health-promoting behavior. However, in the model, Pender did not incorporate a spiritual component. Researchers have found that spiritual well-beings and religious beliefs play important role in health promoting behavior (Boland, 2000).
Boland (2000) worked on the proposed expansion of HPM of Nola Pender. In order to collect data for HPM and the application of its expansion from 595 participants in four different states, the researcher used questionnaires including questionnaires for assessment of spiritual well-being in older adults, and questionnaires for perceived social support. Boland found that social support and spiritual well-being significantly influence the level of commitment; thereby, improving the performance of health-promoting behavior. It was also found that the combined effect of social support and spiritual well-being was more efficacious as compared to individual factors. On a further note, Boland noted that spiritual factors have to be included in the health promoting behaviors to enhance the effectiveness of HPM (Boland, 2000).
Nursing profession requires maximum use of the knowledge that could improve the health promoting behaviors of people, especially patients. In this knowledge, Pender’s HPM is an effective guide for explaining as well as investigating health promoting behaviors. Moreover, HPM along with spiritual and social interactions could be of sufficient assistance, and help the nursing profession in developing clinically applicable interventions. Further research on HPM, spirituality, and social interactions could help in recognizing particular beliefs; thereby, encouraging healthy behaviors. Moreover, the research could also improve the knowledge of nurses in facilitating novel therapeutic interventions, and identifying new strategies for improving the quality of life of patients.
References
Boland, C. S. (2000). Social support and spiritual well-being: Empowering older adults to commit to health-promoting behaviors. Journal of multicultural nursing & health, 6(3), 12.
