Question

A parish nurse has learned that several families within the church cannot afford health care and are lacking in resources for preventive care. He works with the local health department to have an immunization clinic give flu vaccinations for the parish.

• What are the different levels of health promotion/illness prevention and which is being demonstrated in this example?
• What role does the nurse have in promoting health, preventing illness, and addressing disparities in health care?

What education does the nurse need to provide families information about preventive care?

Answer 1

Health promotion enables people to increase control over and to improve health by using various interventions like health education, environmental modification, nutritional interventions ,lifestyle and behavioral changes. The various levels of prevention includes primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.

Primary prevention involves the action taken prior to the onset of disease, which removes the possibility that the disease will ever occur.

In this scenario the Parish nurse is working with the local health department for providing flu vaccinations .It is a method of primary prevention methods. By giving flu vaccinations , it is possible to prevent the occurrence of influenza outbreaks, so it comes under primary prevention. The nurses role in primary prevention mainly involves individual and mass health education to the public , providing immunizations against communicable diseases, emphasizing lifestyle modification to prevent non communicable diseases . Nutrition improvement of the vulnerable groups by child feeding programs, food fortification and nutrition education .Enhancing the environmental modification like control of insect ,rodents ,improvement of housing ,installation of sanitary latrines and safe water supply. Nurses play a major role in providing family planning services, sex education, prenatal classes, smoking cessation and education, education about health and hygiene issues, safety education ( seat belt use, helmet use),advocating for access to health care and promoting healthy environment by protecting vulnerable groups from domestic and child abuse.

Tertiary prevention mainly involves health screening for diseases.Nurses role includes identifying and screening of high risk population, conducting regular health check up and physical examinations.By promoting secondary prevention ,it enables to arrest the disease process and to restore health by seeking out unrecognized disease and treating it.For example TB screening, breast self examination.

Tertiary prevention involves maximization of recovery after an injury or illness. Nurses role includes in nutrition counseling, case management, physical therapy, occupational therapy ,support groups and other rehabilitation programs.

These are the various levels of prevention and the nurses role in each preventive levels. In order to reduce the health disparity the nurses should serve as a client advocate, coordinator, researchers, collaborator,care giver and opinion seeker in public health issues. The nurse has to identify ,assess and screen the population, identify the high risk population and incorporate preventive measures to avoid the occurrence of diseases .Nurse should also play a major role incorporating new health programs and conducting new researchers in public health.