Question

Why is the concept of family health important? Consider the various strategies for health promotion. How does a nurse determine which strategy would best enable the targeted individuals to gain more control over, and improve, their health?

Answer 1

The Concept of Family Health

The concept of family health is a very important part in maintaining and improving the health of the individual and community. As family is the foundation of the health of the community, the improvement in one unit will reflex on the other.

Individual health can be better managed with the involvement of the family.

The family is the oldest institution existing in society and it is the fundamental aspect of humanity. Ensuring the health of the family is the duty and a commitment to society and the Health systems.

In the family health promotion model, the healthcare interventions are planned based on the maximum potential of the family's capacities and aimed at promoting the development, management and sustainability.

Nursing considers family as a system and each member as distinct units. Disruption in harmony can occur as a result of the change in well being of any member. So while caring for patents nurse’s should consider the entire family. The improvement in family health can eventually improve the community health.

Health Promotion Strategies

Health promotion is the concept to improve the health of the people and it is based on the prevention of diseases. By improving the health of the community the diseases burden’s can be minimized or eliminated.

The strategies used for health promotion are: Health Communication,     Health Education and Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change

Health Communication: is the use of communication strategies to intimate and influence the decisions of the individual to enhance health. It includes the verbal and written strategies and allows to make healthier choices.

Health communication utilizes language and concepts based on culture, internet access, mass media etc to convey health related information. It can influence the community health in many ways like increasing the risk perception, reinforcing the positive behaviours, empowering health conditions.

Health Education: is one of the most important strategies for developing and implementing health promotion and disease prevention policies and programs. Health education can provide learning experiences for a target population on specific health topics. The most common health education methods include Lectures, seminars, classes.

Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change (PSE): are designed with sustainability in mind and are targeted on promoting healthy behaviours.

Policy Change is made by organizations, agencies, and stakeholders to improve the health. Examples are policies for smoke-free zones and public events, fat tax on junk foods.

Systems Change: is based on the change in the method of problems are solved.

The systems change influences the purpose of the organization, function, and connections. It also acts by addressing organizational culture, policies, beliefs, relationships, and aims. Examples: adoption of the proven health promotion model

Environmental Change: aims at changing the economic, social, or physical surroundings or contexts which influence the health outcomes. Examples: building parks, greenways, and trails in the community.

Choosing strategies

Choosing strategies also need effective planning and implementation. The selection of strategy will be based on the needs of the community.

• Before selecting a strategy consider the successful strategies used in other communities.
• Review of literature to identify the best strategy to address the problem.
• Select a strategy to achieve the desired outcome
• Evaluation of the selected strategy and replanning
• Develop timeline oriented strategies
• Continuous monitoring and development programmes are essential for success.