The Expanding Role of Nurse Practitioners in Health Education

This essay comprehensively examines the pivotal role of nurse practitioners as health educators, highlighting their contributions to primary prevention. It details how NPs disseminate health information through counseling, screenings, and educational programs, impacting public health by promoting health literacy and disease prevention. The discussion encompasses the importance of health education as a primary prevention technique, including the use of behavioral theories like the social cognitive theory and the transtheoretical model to enhance teaching effectiveness. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of a patient-centered approach, shared teacher-learner goals, and feedback mechanisms for effective health promotion. The essay underscores the critical role NPs play in improving patient outcomes and community health through their health education and preventative care strategies.

Running head: ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
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1ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
Introduction
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners implies nurse practitioners as clinicians
who are registered and licensed and aim to achieve positive health outcomes in the population
through provision of preventive treatment in various specializations such as pediatrics, oncology,
women’s health, cardiovascular health, dermatology as well as geriatric care (American
Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2019). As observed by Koo et al., (2016), recent dynamic
changes within the health organization now attaches increased importance to public health
improvement through health promotion and education. The following essay outlines the role of a
nurse practitioner as a health educator, followed by the implications of the same on primary
prevention.
Discussion
Role of Nurse Practitioners as a Health Educator
According to Buerhaus et al., (2015), in addition to the engaging in the provision of
treatment through accurate diagnosis and symptom associated care plan formulation, the role of
nurse practitioners also expand to include public health promotion. Health promotion involves
dissemination of health education at community levels with the aim of enhancing the levels of
health literacy among the public (Halcomb et al., 2016). As observed by Xue et al., (2016),
nursing practitioners are required to fulfill this function and play key roles in health education
disseminating by applying their services in various environments such as community healthcare
centers, schools and university health centers, correctional and rehabilitation facilities, residential
centers as well as among workers in healthcare organizations. According to Jennings et al.,

2ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
(2015), nurse practitioners conduct health education functions in such diverse occupational
environments, not only through performance of health assessments, screening, preventive care
checkups and execution of immunization programs, but also through provision of counseling and
discussions to the public, on symptoms of harmful disorders, home-based preventative practices
and maintenance of healthy lifestyle and dietary habits. Further, as observed by Yang et al.,
(2018), the nurse practitioner’s also plays a comprehensive role as a health educator than a
clinician, due to their conductance of a holistic, patient centered approach to treatment rather
than the traditional, medical-model based treatment imparted by the latter.
Impact on Primary Prevention
As opined by Poghosyan et al., (2018), the nurse practitioner’s role as a health educator,
exerts notable impacts on primary prevention. In accordance to the key public health insights of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of a total of 10 deaths, 7 mortalities are
caused due to preventable metabolic and lifestyle associated disorders such as diabetes,
cardiovascular malfunctioning and cancer (Healthy People 2020, 2019). The occurrences and the
symptomatic effects of these disorders can be prevented through adequate dissemination of
evidence based health education (Smolowitz et al., 2015). As noted by Landsperger et al.,
(2016), health education involves timely disease screenings along with imparting information on
disease prevention strategies - which are key functions conducted by nurse practitioners -
further allowing citizens in the early detection of future infection occurrence and proceeding
treatment accordingly to prevent detrimental aggravations on health. Hence, health education by
nurse practitioners positively impacts and strengthens the performance of primary disease
prevention (Kooienga & Carryer, 2015).

3ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
Health Education as a Primary Prevention Technique
Provision of adequate healthcare education is considered as an advantageous technique of
primary prevention, since it paves the way for conductance of preventive care procedures of
harmful, preventive diseases (Ramôa Castro et al., 2017). According to Kurtzman and Barnow,
(2017), health education conducted by nurse practitioners includes preventive strategies such as
timely checkups of health, assessments of quality of life indicators as well as screening of
disorders such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. The execution of routine checkups such as those
associated with individual cholesterol or glucose levels along with provision of counseling
sessions associated with detrimental yet preventable lifestyle behaviors such as substance abuse,
alcohol consumption, smoking or unhealthy food consumption, also encompass as key principles
of health education and preventive strategies conducted by nurse practitioners (Kutzleb et al.,
2015).
Such strategies of healthcare education performed by nurse practitioners are considered
to be advantageous techniques of primary prevention since they allow individuals to identify the
presence of any harmful symptoms which may then be tackled effectively to prevent further
escalation towards a detrimental clinical condition (Carryer & Yarwood, 2015). As opined by
Yao et al., (2017), health educational counseling conducted by nurse practitioners also act as
beneficial primary preventive strategies, since it enlightens citizens on home based, disease
preventive strategies which they can further incorporate in their daily lives resulting in not only
reduced familial medical costs but also improved occupational performance. As observed by
Speros (2011), individuals and families with high health literacy levels contribute towards
emergence of communities with positive health outcomes associated with increased attendance
and productivity in educational and occupational environments, increased sense of autonomy,

4ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
empowerment and control over their personal lives and enhanced health and disease awareness
among culturally diverse or indigenous communities who may pose greater susceptibility of
preventable diseases. Hence, nurse practitioner’s roles as a health educator involves conductance
of essential techniques of primary prevention in addition to merely treatment of physiological
symptoms (Grabenkort et al., 2017).
Teaching Process for Health Promotion
As observed by Stoeckel (2017), despite the beneficial preventive effects associated with
health educational strategies conducted by nurse practitioners, the dissemination of health
information may still be hampered in the absence of an adequate teaching process encompassing
key theoretical models. In comparison to merely dissemination of health behavior change
information through evidence based educational strategies, adherence to behavioral theories by
nurse practitioners have been documented to yield far greater beneficial effects on health
promotion and disease prevention (Thompson, Vamos & Daley, 2017). Hence, the teaching plan
utilized by nurse practitioners must be based on behavioral theoretical models which provide key
insights on the how individuals learn, understand and execute health behavior changes. Examples
of health behavior theories which nurse practitioners may incorporate in their teaching plans
include social cognitive theory, transtheoritical model and the precaution adoption process model
(Montano, & Kasprzyk, 2015). The social cognitive theory highlights the importance of social
observation for individual learning, which nurse practitioners may use by conducting health
education and screening programs in groups (Stacey et al., 2015). The transtheoritical model
encompasses individual learning through a six staged linear spiral process of precontemplation,
contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance, with possibilities of relapse, which can
guide nurse practitioner while educating clients through face-to-face visits (Scruggs et al., 2018).

5ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
The precaution adoption model outlines a seven step change learning process while
simultaneously considering the risk factors which may hinder an individual’s learning of health
behavior and hence, can be utilized by nurse practitioners while teaching clients with serious or
life threatening lifestyle behaviors (Chapin, 2016). Hence, such theoretical models can guide in
the preparation of a teaching plan by nurse practitioners.
Lastly, as researched by Haverfield et al., (2018), in addition to the formulation of the
teaching plan, the nurse practitioner must also specify the shared teacher-learner goals for the
effective dissemination of health education. Adherence to a patient or family centered approach
to healthcare communication, along with a transactional model of learning has been documented
as advantageous in health promotion, since it necessitates patient and associated family or peer
participation in the clinical decision making process which results in a two-way communication
process, resulting in positive patient health outcomes and satisfaction and enhanced awareness of
the nurse regarding the personalized needs of clients. According to Lewallen (2015),
conductance of feedback procedures in the form of surveys or interviews or through timely
follow ups are beneficial ways of evaluating the effectiveness of a nurse practitioner’s teaching
plan.
Conclusion
Hence it can be concluded that nurse practitioners play key roles as health educators in
the institutional as well as the community level. Adequate conductance of health education
includes timely health screening and counseling which positively strengthens primary prevention
by enlightening people on preventive strategies and disease conditions. However, the educational
plans by nurse educators must encompass certain theoretical models which will guide in the

6ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
formulation of teacher-learner goals and individual learning processes. Lastly, conductance of
appropriate feedback is essential for the evaluation of nurse practitioner’s teaching plans.

7ROLE OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS AS HEALTH EDUCATORS
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