DQ: Discuss how the concept of “health” has changed overtime

DQ: Discuss how the concept of “health” has changed overtime

Health is a constantly changing concept that will continue to do so. Because of a lack of sanitation methods, the 1800s were a time of disease and infection (Grand Canyon University, 2018, 3). When sanitation methods became available, health became a new concept, but it did not end there. When disease began to disable people, health became a much broader concept than just sanitation; it was the ability to function while remaining disease-free. Health promotion has evolved alongside the concept of health. The United States took the initiative to reduce the likelihood of poor health and improve health choices. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) of the United States focuses on public health and provides financial assistance to facilities in order to provide the public with the health care they deserve (Grand Canyon University, 2018, 7). It is critical to provide patients with evidence-based practice (EBP) interventions for health promotion because they deserve the best care possible. EBP is scientific research that has been shown to be effective in patient care. We are not going to use a practice that has been shown to case trauma for 20 years; instead, we will use the new and improved practice to avoid the past experiences.

References

Ed (Grand Canyon University) (2018).

Health promotion: promoting health and wellness across the lifespan.

Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs429vn/health-promotion-health-and-wellbeing-across-the-continuum/v1.1/.

In the nineteenth century, health was defined as the absence of disease. Diseases were more prevalent due to poor sanitary conditions. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, sanitary conditions were better understood and steps were taken to manage them properly, resulting in more manageable diseases. Vaccinations were invented in the twentieth century, and the definition of health shifted more toward prevention. As health promotion grew in popularity, the definition of health came to be viewed as a collection of factors such as physical, mental, and spiritual well-being (Falkner, 2018). Today’s goal is to create a culture of wellbeing in which health promotion and illness prevention are prioritized over seeking treatment after an illness has occurred.

We now understand that health and wellness go hand in hand with illness prevention. We cannot always choose our health, but we can make choices to improve our health. A person, for example, cannot control a strong family history of heart disease, but they can make dietary and exercise choices to help achieve wellness.

Although the term “health promotion” is new, the concept is not. Promoting good health is an idea that has existed for as long as attempts to improve public health have existed. Health promotion is the process of empowering people to gain more control over their health and improve it. It shifts away from a focus on individual behavior and toward a broad range of social and environmental interventions (World Health Organization, 2018).

Individuals and families deserve effective treatment, and evidence-based practice (EBP) has been tested and proven to be effective. As nurses, we want to implement high-quality, low-cost health promotion interventions.

Evidence-based health promotion programs are interventions that are based on scientific research findings. The evidence suggests that the program is effective in disease prevention and health improvement. These programs have gone through a research process to determine if they produce the desired results. Evidence-Based Health Promotion Programs for Older Adults in Wisconsin, 2017

The nurse’s role in providing health promotion practices is critical, and it includes being an advocate, provider of care/services, care manager, educator, and researcher. The nurse is driving change to improve practices and patient care by using EBP.