hygiene, nutrition, and community fitness
hygiene, nutrition, and community fitness
There are three different levels of health promotion that progress from educating those who are well to those who are ill. Each phase of prevention helps determine the level of education a patient needs. The focus of prevention moves from community wide to patient specific as it progresses from prevention and and identification of risk factors to prevention of disease progression.
The primary phase works with the community on broad topics of health, such as, vaccinations, hygiene, nutrition, and community fitness programs. This phase does not necessarily require active participation. An example of a passive primary health prevention method would be the addition of Fluoride to drinking water to prevent tooth decay or the free vaccinations given at the public Health Department.
Once the level of prevention moves to secondary health promotion, a person is actively seeking information about their health. The education at this level begins with health screenings for those at risk for disease and the early detection of disease to prevent further damage. This would include mobile mammograms or health education classes for those identified with pre-diabetic conditions. The focus is moved from a broad one to one that is more individualized.
The next level of health promotion is the tertiary level. In this level, the individual has an active advanced disease process that requires education and rehabilitation in order for the individual to return to daily activities. This would include the patient who has had a heart attack, cerebral vascular accident, or the diabetic that now requires insulin. The focus is individualized and focused on the prevention of further disability (Falkner, 2018).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019) has funded several programs that work within each level of health promotion. For example, their program Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program works through all three levels. They increased education on stroke risks in the community and improved the quality of stroke care. This education moved stroke from the third to the fifth leading cause of death.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Division for heart disease and stroke prevention at a glance. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/heart-disease-stroke.htm
Falkner, A. (2018) Health promotion in nursing care. In Grand Canyon University (Eds.), Health promotion: health and wellness across the continuum. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs429vn/health-promotion-health-and-wellness-across-the-continuum/v1.1/#/chapter/2
