Family Health Promotion in Nursing Practice

February 22, 2014
Family Health Promotion
Health promotion is defined as the science and art of helping people improve their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The World Health Organization (WHO) believes health promotion allows health to be a resource and not the objective of living (WHO, 2012). This paper will review the purpose of health promotion as related to nursing practice, and how nursing roles and responsibilities have evolved in regards to health promotion and implementation on the prevention, management and long term maintenance and rehabilitation on Stroke patients, including preventing education to the public and communities, on a primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention level (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). A stroke is caused by the disruption of the blood supply to the brain, usually related to a blood vessel ruptures or blocked by a clot, as define by World Health Organization. The blockage of oxygen and nutrients to the brain’s tissues can cause permanent damage to the brain tissue. Warning signs of stroke are, sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, most often on one side of the body. Other symptoms include: confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech; difficulty seeing with one or both eyes; walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; severe headache with no known cause; fainting or unconsciousness. The effects of a stroke depend on which part of the brain is injured and how severely it is affected. A very severe stroke can cause sudden death (WHO 2012).
Scientists outline health promotion as the course of action taken to enable individuals to have control over their health physically and mentally on ongoing bases and the awareness and knowledge to make changes and seek medical help as needed. Despite the