Abstract Unfortunately, while caring for others, nurses tend to fall short when caring for themselves. Health promotion programs have been introduced to address health risks that are directly impact the workforce. Globally, health promotion programs have been documented to show improved health outcomes for workers, reducing healthcare costs for both employer and employee. These types of programs could be extremely useful to addressing the health of our nation’s nurses, since they have consistently been documented to have worse health outcomes compared to the general population. Challenges to implementing health promotion program in the nursing field have been presented due to specific barriers which prevent program engagement for nurses. …show more content…
Nurses account for nearly half of all healthcare workers, even with documented nursing shortages, so the health of the nursing workforce is integral to maintaining a fully operational healthcare system (Chan & Perry, 2012). Hundreds of research studies have examined the impact of stress on the nursing profession (Jennings, 2008). The nursing field is subjected to many health risks and occupational stressors which are caused by a multitude of factors: extended and differential work shifts, high stress situations, injuries, and consistent exposure to diseases and death which can lead to “compassion fatigue” (Chan & Perry, …show more content…
In their 2017 Report “WHO Healthy Workplace Framework and Model: Background and Supporting Literature and Practices” the World Health Organization identified a statistically significant relationship between institutions that implemented a health promotion program and a reduction in workplace injury. Though health promotion programs are not mandated by law, their correlating effect on the reduction of workplace hazards could assist employers in staying in compliance with OSHA regulations here in the United States (WHO, 2017). Essentially, both employers and employees benefit greatly from the incorporation of health promotion programs into the workplace.
Health promotion programs can take on numerous forms. Healthcare institutions have created programs related to smoking cessation, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, and overall health status. Many of these institutions create financial incentives for employees which participate in these health programs; such as a reduction in healthcare insurance costs, free gym memberships, monetary
Often in practice, we as nurses deal with a variety of diseases and treatments and often have to react to the illness that the patient presents with upon our interaction. While this is an essential piece of our practice, we also have a duty to our patients to be proactive in preventing specific health-related consequences based on their risk factors and to promote their health and well being. Health promotion as it relates to nursing is about us empowering our patients to increase their control over their lives and well beings and includes: focusing on their health not just illness, empowering our patients, recognizing that health involves many dimensions and is also effected by factors outside of their control (Whitehead et al. 2008)..
...ter for obese individuals than for average weight individuals. The healthier workers are, the fewer medical services they use. The five leading causes of death in the U.S., heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes — are directly linked to unhealthy lifestyles. Clearly, encouraging healthful habits presents an opportunity to improve workers’ well being, reduce the need for medical services and help control costs.
Tannahill, A., Tannahill, C., & Downie, R. S. (1999) Health Promotion. Models and Values. Oxford University Press.
campaign and technical assistance to promote the benefits of worksite health promotion. A new CDC
The health promotion is a key factor process of permitting people to increase control over their health status in order to improve it. It not only covers the actions directly aimed at increasing the skills and capabilities of individuals, but is also aimed at changing the social, environmental and economic issues that impact on healthy habits.
Nurses around the world collaborate with various providers and partners to address multiple challenges in the community. With emphasize on health promotion and disease prevention, nurses have an important role in delivering nursing services in the community and in the home. Challenges that impact the overall health of the community can arise from unequal access to health care or lack of insurance causing individuals do not receive healthcare. However, all nurses can help improve health outcomes and help to prevent and manage diseases. With the help of community health nurses, public health nurses, and home health nurses, the ability to provide safe and effective care for all sectors of health is possible.
... and it is also the most humane policy. Health promotion gives people information about healthy lifestyles and diseases at a low cost but it has substantial outcomes. This information helps people to modify their behaviors, to search for assistance and diagnosis, and to have a healthy life. Health education and communications based on psychological and behavioral research in order to promote health and wellness must be supported.
Pender, N., Murdaugh, C., & Parsons, M. A. (2011). Health promotion in nursing practice (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
One of the most serious issues in nursing, that can affect a nurses career is nursing burn- out. According to the article “Where have all the nurses gone”, current nurses that are practicing, report high rates of job dissatisfaction (which is part of burn out) and 1 of 5 nurses may quit nursing in the next 5 years (Dworkin, 2002). Burnout is associated with nurses not coming in to work, not feeling satisfied when doing their job, high turnover rates and a lack of commitment to the work (Katisfaraki, 2013). If a nurse becomes burned- out, they may not take care of their patients as well and could make mistakes with medication administration. A study performed in the United States by Dr. Jeannie Cimiottti, shows that hospitals with high burn-out rates among nurses have higher levels UTI’s, and surgical infections (World, 2012). Nursing burnout not only affects the nurse, but it also affects the patient, the nurses’ colleagues, and the nurses’ family; nursing burn out often leads to emotional exhaustion and depression, that can effect relations and communication between the nurse effected and the person they are communicating with. This paper will cover what burn-out is, who is susceptible to burn out, and treatment and prevent nursing burn out.
Health promotion is a multifaceted movement with a core value on respect, empowerment, equity, inclusion and social justice (MacDougall 2002). Aims to achieve holistic health, while it is influenced by medical and social determinants. These determinants which aids to deter...
To start off, I am going to explain the Health Promotion definition. Health is one’s ability to function well physically, mentally, and socially in order to function within the environment in which they are living in (World Health Organization, 2016). Encouraging one’s control over their own health in relation to social and environmental interventions defines health promotion which leads to the optimization of health (World Health Organization, 2016). It is essential for older adults to partake in changing their lifestyle in terms of their behavior and applying the knowledge they receive from health care providers in order to promote health (World Health Organization, 2016). Older adults mostly have a hard time taking care of themselves and need the assistance to guide them for their well-being. Therefore, nurses have a vital role in providing information and teaching individuals how to gain healthy ideas to promote healthy behaviors. Health promotion is a crucial element in supporting an older adult living with a health challenge such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
The nursing profession has often been dubbed as the backbone of the healthcare system because nurses are first in line when it comes to the patient’s medical care. Hence, nursing quality is one of the major factors that affects the well-being of the patient. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are expected to possess the characteristics of caring and empathy towards their patients. However, when there is too much care for patients and too little for one’s self, a negative effect to the overall health of the caregiver may develop. Additionally, nursing work is seen to be strenuous and challenging due to its need for specialization, complexity, and requirement to handle emergency situations (Benoliel et al., 1990; Su, 1993). Nurses, in effect, may feel overworked, underappreciated, frustrated and emotionally exhausted. These stressors that healthcare providers undergo are described by different terms including compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout and other related issues. In this paper, the nature of compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout are first defined and discussed. The symptoms as well as the coping strategies for these phenomena are then explained.
...nt. Wellness programs in workplaces have also become increasingly popular. These programs have not only demonstrated to be clinically effective but also cost effective. Companies are willing to invest to improve their productivity and decrease insurance cost. These programs will continue to grow in all fields and will require the need for more ND’s to participate. Promoting these programs can only lead to positive improvements from a patient to a corporate perspective.
Hans Selye said, “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” Stress can cause it’s victims to suffer from emotional and physical anguish. If stress occurs for prolonged periods of time with little to no reprieve it can result in serious and sometimes fatal health problems. It is ironic that stress can lead to major health concerns, yet some of the most stressed people are those in the healthcare profession. According to an article from the Nursing Standard, stress is a leading cause of illness and depression among nurses (Jones-Berry, 2013). Several studies have shown that there is a direct link between stress, depression and illness and often times nurses fall victim to this link because of poor work environments and a lack of appropriate sick leave to tend to their own needs. Research has shown that stress amidst nurses is directly related to depression and illness; therefore, hospitals need to take actions necessary to decrease stress and promote well-being among their nursing staff.
Another large debate in the issues and impacts of obesity is the responsibility of employer’s. Especially for those whose obesity comes from a sedentary lifestyle. Or perhaps need the preventative measures of keeping obesity at bay. A hot topic on the rise is whether or not employers should be mandated to give employees a work-out period in their schedule. The employers could offer employee’s incentives for utilizing resources (a company gym, discounted memberships, and dietician, walking a company track) and by using the resources keep costs low. Though initially it could be costly to take on the responsibility to offer extra incentives to employee’s it could offer long term potential savings. (Villareal, Apovian, Kushner, and Klein 2005) Those whose companies offer various programs and actively engage in them express more happiness, productivity, a greater quality of life, and overall better health. Better health allows for employee’s to serve their employers better. They use less sick pay, keep insurance premiums low, and are more likely to be in tune with their daily job. So while the initial cost may be high, the long term financial gain of a happy, healthy, productive team is hard not to invest in!