The discussion assignment provides a forum for discussing relevant topics for this week based on the course competencies covered.

For this assignment, go to the Discussion Area and post a response to one question in the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. You may respond to your classmates’ posts for either question.

To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use the South University Online Library. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the week as possible. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial postings. Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion. Cite sources in your responses to other classmates. Complete your participation for this assignment by the end of the week.

As a family nurse practitioner you are working in a rural health clinic. You are evaluating a 16-year-old adolescent patient who comes in complaining of having a difficulty concentrating in school. On exam you also note that the patient is very thin and frail in appearance and is asking you for diet pills.

What are some initial areas for concern? What screening tools can help lead you closer to your diagnosis?

Describe 1 health promotion strategy you can discuss with the patient.

Be sure to address the following in your plan of care: pharmacological and non-pharmacological (OTC) interventions, labs, follow-up, teaching, and referral/s.

Your work should integrate course resources (text/s) as well as a minimum of two (2) other evidence-based guidelines and/or articles published within 3-5 years.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS 

Health promotion strategies

Introduction

We know that promoting health is about more than just changing individual behaviour. The way we approach health promotion needs to take into account the complex web of factors that affect our wellbeing, including social and economic factors such as poverty and unemployment. But there are lots of ways we can all make a difference when it comes to improving individuals’ health. Here are some ideas:

Reduce the risk factors

Risk factors for disease include tobacco use, alcohol use, sexual behaviour and diet. Studies have shown that some risk factors are more important than others when it comes to developing chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes.

Risk factors can be changed—for example: if you don’t smoke or drink alcohol; eat healthy foods; exercise regularly; manage your weight by keeping a healthy body mass index (BMI).

Increase the protective factors

In order to promote health, it’s important that you increase the protective factors in your life. Protective factors can be defined as anything that reduces risk for disease or injury. They include things like physical activity, good nutrition and social support from family and friends. Increasing these protective factors during times of adversity will help maintain a healthy lifestyle when those obstacles arise.

Create supportive environments

• Create supportive environments.

• What is a supportive environment?

• Why does it matter?

• The more people that are in support of you, the better your health will be. For example, if you have a friend who has been struggling with depression or anxiety and they tell you about their struggles, this can give them some much needed reassurance that there are people out there who understand what they’re going through and want to help them get through those rough times. This can have an enormous impact on how they feel about themselves as well as their ability to cope with things around them (e.g., family members).

Reorient health services

Health services should be focused on the needs of people. They should be accessible to everyone and provide information and support to those in need. Health services should also be flexible in responding to changing needs as well, such as by providing more resources or changing the way they deliver care if necessary.

Strengthen community action

Community action is a strategy that seeks to strengthen community health by involving people in different sectors of society, including government and non-government organizations. Community action can be facilitated by local government or even private companies.

Community health workers are often involved in community action projects, as they have access to communities that others do not. Community health workers can also help with planning for such activities, as well as taking part themselves when necessary.

Develop person and personal skills

• Developing self-management skills: This includes planning and organizing, time management, goal setting and problem solving.

• Developing social support: This involves receiving emotional support from family members or friends while recovering from a disease/injury. It also involves having more than one person who can help with daily tasks such as cooking meals or doing laundry.

• Developing problem solving skills: These skills are fundamental to living independently in the community after you have recovered from an illness or injury because they allow you to make decisions about how much help you need at home based on what’s best for your health goals (such as staying comfortable). They also help develop coping strategies that can help deal with difficult situations like losing a job due to injury recovery timelines being longer than expected; financial hardship due

There are lots of ways to promote health beyond changing individual health behaviour.

There are lots of ways to promote health beyond changing individual health behaviour. Examples include:

• Providing information about healthy lifestyles, including a range of options for physical activity and healthy eating.

• Educating people about ways to prevent diseases and injuries, particularly those related to cardiovascular disease (CVD).

• Making it easier for people to get help when they need it—for example by providing more convenient access to community services or providing affordable pharmacists services in all locations where they are located.

Conclusion

There are many ways to promote health beyond changing individual health behaviour. We can’t all be doctors, nurses or scientists, but we can all do our bit towards making our communities healthy places by engaging with them and building relationships with others.