Levels of health promotion

Levels of health promotion

There are three levels of health promotion: Primary, secondary and tertiary. These levels help nurses determine the patient’s education needs.

Primary Prevention: It happens before the onset of the disease or injury, it prevents the onset of illness or injury before the disease process begins. It is done by the elimination or reduction of factors that reduce good health and promoting factors that are protective of health. Health promotion and education interventions are used in the primary prevention. Examples of primary prevention include programs for smoking cessation, immunization programs and increasing opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating.

Secondary Prevention: It is about early detection or intervention before the disease cause permanent damage. Early screening and treatment is the focus of the secondary prevention. It is for individuals who may not show any symptoms but are exposed to or have known risk factor for a particular condition. Examples of secondary prevention are breast cancer screening programs and regular hearing tests for workers exposed to industrial noise.

Tertiary Prevention: It targets those individuals with diagnosed illness and disease. It happens after the disease is already established and caused some permanent damage. This prevention focuses on reducing the consequences of the disease process to improve the individual quality of life or reducing the progression of the disease. Examples of tertiary prevention are self-management programs for those with chronic illness, or rehabilitation programs for those recovering from accident or illness.

A nurse can apply all three levels of health promotion to determine the patient’s education needs.For example: A patient on a primary prevention a nurse can teach the patient about diet and hot to protect themselves from developing diseases. A patient on Secondary prevention a nurse can educate the patient about see a primary care doctor regularly and when experience certain symptoms such as fever, so they can get early treatment. A patient on the tertiary level a nurse could educate on how to take their medication appropriately.

References:

Grand Canyon University (Ed). (2018). Health promotion: Health & wellness across the continuum. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs429vn/health-promotion-…