Health promotion strategies are required

Nursing
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The World Health Organization (WHO) (2019), defined health promotion as the process of
giving people the ability to increase control over health and to improve their health. It aims to
help an individual achieve a state of complete mental, social and physical wellbeing (Blackie,
2019). Health, therefore, is considered as a resource that is required in day to day living and not
as an objective of living. Health promotion protects the health of individuals and promotes the
quality of life by not only focusing on the treatment but also preventing the root causes of
diseases. Health promotion strategies are required in the primary, secondary and tertiary level of
care (Fertman, & Allensworth, 2016). This essay will justify the interventions and health
promotions strategies that have been chosen for Ruby Pascal.
Ruby Pascal is a 43-year-old female who has been admitted to the medical ward due to her
frequent presentations to the Emergency Department. She has a history of poorly self-managed
type 2 diabetes and a general anxiety disorder which has been getting worse as a result of
personal concerns. The health promotion problems for Mrs Pascal include poor health-seeking
behavior patterns, lack of adequate health information and lack of adequate physical activity.
These are some of the top problems identified and should be addressed accordingly in order to
improve the health status of Mrs Pascal.
Mrs Pascal has poor health-seeking behavior which may be affecting her health greatly. Health
seeking behaviour is considered to be any action that is undertaken by a person who perceives
themselves to be ill or have a problem related to health in order to find an appropriate remedy.
Ruby has been reluctant to find a medical assistant from any other medical practitioner other
than her GP despite the fact that her anxiety was getting worst. She also self-medicates with
valium. This is diazepam which produces a calming effect when taken and is normally used to
treat anxiety disorders (Calcaterra, & Barrow, 2014). However, Ruby takes the medication when

she needs it since she is an assistant pharmacist and hence could easily access the drug and also
knew the right dose. This is not good health-seeking behavior.
Ruby, therefore, has to be educated on the importance of good health-seeking behaviors. This
intervention involves providing her with adequate information on what such behaviors entail and
more so, the detrimental effects of not promoting such behaviors on her health (Douthit et al.
2015). Ruby has to understand that she can seek medical help from any health practitioner
whenever she is in need without necessarily waiting until she gets in contact with her own GP.
This is because some medical issues may be emergencies that need to be attended quickly
(Booker et al. 2014). She needs to understand that she can trust her health with other staffs whom
she does not know (Calma et al. 2018). This is because she claims that she feels safe with their
local GP and hospital since it is staffed with people she knows and trusts. This can also be
tackled by involving a multidisciplinary team for her care. For example, a counsellor may be
asked to counsel her so that she can be open to all healthcare staffs concerning her health
problems so as to promote better health outcomes. This will even allow her to be able to seek a
psychologist in Brisbane to help her, instead of trying to make an appointment at home.
Moreover, Ruby lacks adequate health information. This makes her even more anxious. For
example, she kept wondering if her diabetes medication was going to make her anxiety worse.
Therefore, the best intervention to address this problem is to encourage Mrs Pascal always to
seek clarification concerning health issues that may be of concern to her. Providing the patient
with information concerning all her medication and management will also help to relieve her of
her worries (Robichaud et al. 2019). She should be encouraged to remember the information
provided to her so that she can handle similar problems in the future. For example, she could not
remember what she used to do when she is stressed, despite having met a psychologist before

concerning the issue. In addition, her eating habits are not healthy, and she needs to be
adequately informed on the reasons as to why she should maintain a healthy eating lifestyle.
Lack of adequate physical activity was also identified as a health promotion need for Mrs ruby.
Physical activity helps in the management of diabetes since it controls blood sugar levels and
minimizes the risk of nerve damage and heart disease (Asif, 2014). Mrs Pascal state that she does
not exercise and being in the city makes it hard for her to work to and from job hence uses taxis.
To address this issue, I will educate Ruby about other available options that she can manage to
do exercise with more comfortable. This include; aerobics, swimming and even jogging. I will
also link here to a physiotherapist so as to help her out with physical activity exercise. This will
greatly help to prevent long term complications associated with diabetes.
In conclusion, health promotion interventions and strategies should be geared towards ensuring
that they are specific to the needs of a patient. This will promote patient-centred care, whereby
the care of a patient is individualized. The patient is assessed individually, and needs are
addressed accordingly hence ensuring that all the needs are met. This greatly improves the
outcomes of healthcare and leads to higher patient satisfaction. The three pillars of health
promotion (good governance for health, Health literacy and Healthy cities) should also promote
in order to ensure that health promotion programs that are formulated succeed. This will, in turn,
leads to the achievement of better health care services.

Reference
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