week 1 health promotion

There are several factors that contribute to the overall health of individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes health as a state of physical, mental and social well being (Feldman, 2020). Although health is frequently viewed as mostly the physical and mental state of individuals, spiritual, emotion and financial components contribute to overall health as well (Feldman, 2020). When viewing the overall health of an individual, it is important to view the balance between the person, their environment, unity of body and soul and the natural origin of disease (Svalastog, Donev, Kristoffersen, and Gajovic, 2017).        I believe the definition of health is how an individual is able to function to their full capacity on a daily basis based on their physical and mental health status. I believe for an individual to fully function in their daily life, physical and mental health play a major role in how they live each day. There are individuals who view overall health as the diet a person consumes or the amount of exercise they perform on a daily or weekly basis. Some people may say a person is in overall good health by not having a diagnosis for a health condition or illness. I believe as health care providers, we need to view each client as a whole including mind, body and spirit. My definition of health compared to the definition of health provided by the WHO, is very similar. Health is defined and determined by several factors, not just physical, not just mental but overall how an individual is able to function to their full capacity.        Creating change in services, changes in treatments and changes in policies can promote better health outcomes for individuals and communities as a whole (Pearce, Maple, Shakeshaft, Wayland, and McKay, 2020). This is vital to understand as a health care provider whose overall goal is to promote better health outcomes for each individual under their care. As an advanced practice registered nurse in psychiatric mental health, it is vital to assess and view each client as an individual and but also assess how they impact their community. Identifying and treating mental health conditions has a major impact on the overall physical health of individuals and communities (Rice, Stalling, Monasterio, 2019). Again this goes back to how an individual can function to their full capacity on a daily basis for themselves but also function to their full capacity within their community. In order for a health care provider to promote better outcomes for their clients, it is important they have the resources needed available. 

My name is QQ and I have been an RN for 20 years now and just completed my BSN almost 2 years ago. I have worked in many different areas such as in the hospital on a med/surg unit. Then I worked at a rehab facility on many units such as pediatrics, pulmonary, ortho and general med surg. I then went into home care and worked as a visiting nurse. Currently I work for an organization that provides care for children and families with mental illness, performing such duties as consulting with team members, families and clients that we serve to provide resources, support and education to enhance physical health and wellness promotion. Since the COVID-19 epidemic my role has changed significantly to include developing policies and trainings for an isolation unit we opened up in April. I also oversee the staff there and support them with infection control, patient care & med administration. I have recently started to travel to the many sites my company has to test clients for COVID-19. Over my career I have learned a lot of different skills in many areas. I love to learn and grow as a nurse. My first memory of a primary prevention is when I was young and I had to get a vaccination. I know that when I received vaccinations previously, I was always really scared and emotional but I do not remember anything other than that. This specific time I remember that a nurse came in and sat with me and asked if I had any vaccinations previously and what it was like for me. I explained to her that I was always really scared and I would cry and yell at people. She asked me if anything I had tried helped in the past or if there was anything she could do to help me. I remember telling her that I was older and I thought that I could handle it better now. I remember feeling more comfortable and that I wanted to prove to myself as well as her that I could be brave and not cry. I remember feeling that the nurse respected my feelings and tried her best to help me in any way she could. This was a positive memory that I have taken and tried to implement in the way I care for young patients. Most of the time I feel that it has been helpful to ask young patients about their past experiences and what I can do for them to help in any way. My first memory of a secondary prevention that I can think of is when I needed to have a test to check for a urinary tract infection. I don’t remember a lot about it except that I felt very violated and that the test was being forced upon me. I did not feel respected or understood or even that the health care professional cared about my feelings. I remember them telling me that it needed to be done and that was that. I also remember after that refusing to go to that Doctors office and being very difficult at appointments to the extent that my mother ended up bringing me to another Doctors office. It is hard to say for sure what I would do differently in this situation as I can’t remember any specifics well. Based off my feelings from the situation I wish that the healthcare professionals tried to explain the test better to me, asked if I had any questions and acknowledged my feelings. I think that if they had attempted to do any of those things I may have not felt that it was forced on me. If this situation was handled more like the first situation I described I may have felt better about it.