Health promotion is one of the concepts that must be more explicitly defined for nursing due to its frequent use and the development of different health care trends that could determine its value. According to the classification system developed by McEwen and Wills (2014), health promotion can be defined as a summative concept, the goal of which is to represent an entire complex entity that cannot be measured but can be discussed to improve the chosen sphere of work. In this paper, concept analysis will be developed to explore the meaning of health promotion and improve its understanding among nurses and health care professionals. Among the various methods of concept analysis currently in use, the scheme developed by Walker and Avant in 2005 is offered for consideration to clarify the meaning of the concept of “health promotion” and identify a common language for further discussion. Eight main steps should be taken by a researcher.
Concept Selection
Health promotion is a frequently used concept that identifies a range of activities and different interventions through which individuals and entire communities can control and improve their health (Naidoo & Wills, 2016).
Purposes of Analysis
This analysis is designed to identify the meaning of health promotion as a concept that is frequently used in nursing and health care and to help nurses further develop their understandings of health.
Identification of the Concept Uses
Health promotion is a concept that is named in dictionaries and various literature sources as a possibility to promote health and help people avoid or reduce the number of diseases. This term is also used in schools and colleges to explain to people how they should develop their activities and prevent health problems (Fung et al., 2012).
Determination of Attributes
The main attributes of health promotion are the importance of health education for all individuals, the development of an individualized process to help a particular person, the possibility to predict and prevent the development of a disease, and the necessity for people to make certain behavioral changes in lifestyle.
Model Case Identification
For example, health promotion could be the goal of any college program in which students listen to different topics relating to their sexual lives and discuss the importance of protection and safe sex.
Additional Cases Identification
However, health promotion should never be imposed on people. Instead, it is necessary to explain the importance of health without making people choose between what they find interesting or obligatory in their lives. For example, health promotion in kindergartens and colleges should vary due to the obvious age differences in participants.
Antecedents and Consequences
To understand the importance of health promotion, people should first recognize their health status and be eager to learn something new. In the case of successful health promotion, it is expected that people may improve their health and prevent diseases.
Empirical Referents
Health promotion may be applied to many different spheres and at different levels. It can be difficult to make one individual think about his or her health. However, if the whole community is informed about the importance of health promotion via mass media, it is expected that each individual might be more interested.
Conclusion
In general, the analysis of health promotion proves its importance. Each step of the concept analysis is a unique opportunity to identify health promotion as a process during which numerous attempts should be made to educate people, prevent diseases, and improve the health status of every individual.
References
Fung, C., Kuhle, S., Lu, C., Purcell, M., Schwartz, M., Storey, K., & Veugelers, P. J. (2012). From” best practice” to” next practice”: The effectiveness of school-based health promotion in improving healthy eating and physical activity and preventing childhood obesity. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9(1), 27. Web.
McEwen, M., & Wills, E.M. (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Naidoo, J., & Wills, J. (2016). Foundations for heath promotion (4th ed.). London, UK: Elsevier.