Preventative healthcare is increasingly becoming popular; it works to improve the overall wellness of populations using a variety of methods by educating and avoiding illnesses. Through information obtained from preventative health care, illnesses are treated early on before they become critical, which helps promote healthy lifestyles.
Healthcare systems in the past focused on curing diseases instead of prevention. The healthcare system has now evolved, shifting toward adopting effective prevention techniques. Nurses help by utilizing recommendations and evidence-based research to promote preventative healthcare and improve the overall health of patients. Through teaching and encouragement, nurses are the catalysts for healthier lifestyles, helping patients with services such as screenings, counseling, precautionary procedures and medications.
Undoubtedly, nurses are an influential force among patients; this is largely attributed to their awareness of health-related issues as well as their close and frequent relationship with patients. They provide critical ongoing support and recommend key lifestyle changes, consequently reinforcing patients to adopt healthy habits through leadership, mentorship and education.
More so when it comes to children, nurses encourage parents to adopt healthy lifestyles for their kids by providing ongoing support and helping them make positive lifestyle changes. Having earned a degree and worked in the field, nurses can advance their careers by earning a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner (PCP-NP) qualification from Spring Arbor University. With a PCP-NP qualification, you will be in a better position to provide a full range of primary care services to children from infancy through adolescence. You will provide comprehensive care that includes routine check-ups, preventative care, immunizations, management of chronic conditions and treatment of common illnesses. In addition, PNPs are often able to prescribe medications and order diagnostic tests.
Healthier lifestyles – behavior change
Nurses have a great deal of influence on daily life and can change patient behavior, which will then lead to improvements in health. They should not only seek to change an individual’s lifestyle but also help individuals make the changes needed for healthy living.
Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of lifestyle change. It is well known that a healthy diet and regular exercise lead to a healthier life. Lifestyle also refers to how you live; if you embrace a healthy lifestyle such as healthy eating and exercising regularly, you will enjoy a healthy life. If you embrace unhealthy lifestyles, you can easily be identified by poor health, obesity and risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke later in life.
Preventative healthcare
Preventative care encompasses a vast range of techniques that seek to identify, prevent and treat diseases, as well as educate populations. Retrospective studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between preventive care and improved healthcare outcomes. Studies have also shown that the normal progression of the disease varies for different populations. To prevent disease, nurses must be able to identify risk factors and implement preventative interventions aimed at reducing the risk of developing diseases normally associated with certain populations.
Nurses are key when it comes to providing preventative healthcare. Prevention involves preventing both acute and chronic illnesses, which requires nurse-patient interaction at various levels. Nurses can teach patients to make changes in their lifestyles by exercising regularly, implementing proper diet and avoiding harmful habits by enacting positive lifestyle changes.
Depending on their position in healthcare organizations or facilities, nurses can take part in preventative care regularly. The three main levels of preventative care include:
- Primary prevention
Primary prevention is the first line of defense for preventing illness and disease. Primary care nurses play a critical role in the early detection and treatment of diseases through preventive healthcare techniques. The US Preventative Services Task Force outlines primary prevention as offering necessary knowledge to individuals in a bid to prevent the onset of targeted conditions.
Nurses encourage positive health behaviors at this level by offering counseling and information to communities and populations through education. From reinforcing the use of seat belts to providing immunizations, these programs are designed to avoid illnesses and suffering while minimizing supplementary costs of disease treatment – typically, primary prevention is the most economical method of healthcare that can help prevent chronic and expensive conditions.
- Secondary prevention
Secondary care is broadly used to refer to treatment for conditions that were prevented by primary prevention. Nurses need to understand the varying stages of secondary prevention to treat patients accordingly and make the best prevention measures possible. Secondary prevention methods seek to reduce the risk of disease by targeting individuals who have already developed certain conditions or are at high risk of certain diseases.
At this level, nurses can teach patients with secondary conditions how to regain their health, although some may require a higher level of primary care such as advanced practice nurses and physician assistants. They play a key role in the management of patients who have already developed chronic diseases by providing them with education, information and care as necessary.
- Tertiary prevention
Tertiary prevention involves the treatment of existing diseases in patients. Nurses can play a key role in this stage of healthcare by alleviating symptoms and reducing the likelihood that individuals will require repeated treatment or hospitalization. Tertiary care also includes rehabilitative care; nurses can help individuals return to their pre-existing state of good health through education, counseling and other approaches. At this stage, the primary and secondary methods are assumed to have been unsuccessful; thus, it encompasses methods that can help minimize negative effects and prevent future complications.
How nurses help in promoting healthy lifestyles
As part of the most important individuals in the realm of healthcare, nurses help with prevention and curative measures by providing individuals with essential treatment, information and advice. They have a strong impact on public health, and they are in charge of promoting healthy lifestyles among patients through medically focused assistance and support.
Here are a few ways through which nurses can promote healthy lifestyles in patients:
Moderated alcohol use
While nurses suggest that patients completely stay away from alcohol consumption, they also realize that it is not easy to do so. Thus, they can help patients by educating them about making better decisions when it comes to alcohol consumption and offering advice regarding how to implement moderate alcohol use into their lifestyles. They can help patients modify their consumption of alcohol in line with healthy lifestyle suggestions. If alcohol addiction becomes a significant problem, they can advise patients to attend an alcohol treatment facility with periodic checkups to evaluate their progress as they make appropriate adjustments.
Diet
Another way nurses can encourage patients to follow a healthy lifestyle is by providing personalized diet plans based on the patient’s palate or health needs. They can help individuals follow a specific diet to curb and prevent some illnesses. This includes controlling and maintaining weight with healthy eating habits to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease.
Smoking
It is not unusual for nurses to notice smokers in their peripheral areas. Nurses can help patients quit by informing them of the risks involved in smoking and providing them with supplemental support beyond counseling and advice. They can also provide basic information about quitting methods, advise them regarding specific smoking cessation programs and assist them in quitting if they wish to do so.
Exercise
Nurses can encourage patients to exercise regularly. They can also provide information regarding the importance of exercise and assist or supervise them in doing it correctly. Through their knowledge and experience, nurses can provide effective recommendations based on the patients’ ages, needs and fitness levels.
Nurses advocate for 30 minutes of regular exercise at least five days each week along with an ideal sporting diet to combat life-threatening conditions such as high blood pressure, heart conditions and other diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and stroke.
Control of existing diseases
Preventive care nurses play a key role in beneficial treatments and curative measures, even if they are not able to prevent the onset of existing diseases. They can help guide patients to implement and follow healthy lifestyles by providing them with basic information and tips to limit their triggers or risk factors for developing health conditions. They also monitor their progress and provide feedback to patients regarding their specific health needs.
Need to work in preventive care? Enroll for an advanced nursing degree
Nurses play a vital role in influencing patients’ choices and behavior, which in turn helps prevent or reduce the onset of certain diseases. They contribute to public health by encouraging patients to implement health improvement measures and promote healthy lifestyles. Indeed, the importance of nurses in patient care takes an even higher level when it comes to healthy living; they can help patients make better lifestyle choices through their experience and knowledge regarding the consequences resulting from certain behaviors.
Even with the fast-changing healthcare landscape, nurses are still crucial individuals in the healthcare system. They continue to be a prominent part of the healthcare delivery system, which is still mainly focused on primary and secondary prevention. With an advanced nursing degree, nurses can further elevate their careers and expand their scope of practice by earning certifications in specialties to maximize their value in the industry.