Introduction
Nola Pender is a nursing theorist who is famous for the Health Promotion Model. Pender does not describe health as the absence of different illnesses and diseases. Her model considers health as a positive dynamic condition. Pender’s model is the promotion of healthy lifestyle in order to increase a patient’s health and prosperity. This paper is aimed at the investigation of Nola J. Pender’s Health Promotion Model.
The essence of the Health Promotion Model
To understand how the Health Promotion Model has influenced the practice of the advanced practice nurse, firstly, it is important to describe the essence of this model. Health promotion is the aim of the Health Promotion Model. According to Butts and Rich (2013), the Health Promotion Model is based on three areas: individual characteristics and experiences, behavior-specific cognitions and affect, and behavioral outcomes. Pender states that every person has his or her own personal qualities, characteristics, and practices. She underlines that subsequent events and actions directly depend on them. In other words, unique personal experiences have a significant impact on patients’ health and well-being.
Pender’s model and nursing practice
It is worth mentioning that nurses can modify or even change three areas on which the model is focused. Due to Pender’s model and view of health, nursing actions become even more important and influential. Communication between nurses and patients is considered to be one of the most important factors that influence patients’ health. Nurses play a significant role in the so-called patient education. Nurses are to help patients to find out about healthy choices and behavior as much as possible because these factors are the key to healthy future. Besides, if patients know how to care for themselves, it helps to prevent illnesses and diseases to a great extent. Thus, the understanding of the fact that nurses greatly contribute to patients’ healthy behavior has influenced the practice of the advanced practice nurse and formed nursing knowledge in a new way.
Pender’s model and the AACN Essential VIII
As it is defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011), there are nine essentials of master’s education in nursing. One of them is clinical prevention and population health for improving health. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) states that “it recognizes that the master’s-prepared nurse applies and integrates broad, organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and aggregates/identified populations” (p. 5). Some connections can be noticed between this essential and Pender’s Health Promotion Model. The introduction of clinical prevention and population health activities is aimed at improving the overall health of the United States of America. Nurses will utilize prevention interventions in their daily practice more effectively if they are guided by Pender’s model and pay enough attention to patients’ personal biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors.
Conclusion
To sum up, there are a lot of theories related to health and health promotion in particular. Pender’s Health Promotion Model is an example of such theories. The Model is simple to understand, and it is different from other theories because it is mainly focused on disease prevention. A new approach to the definition of health was implemented in Pender’s model. The Health Promotion Model underlines the importance of the independent nursing practice and underlines that nursing practice and activities are the most important source of health promoting and education.
References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2013). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2011). The essentials of master’s education in nursing. Web.