FNP 590 Week 5 discussion post - systems of health.

FNP 590 Week 5 discussion post - systems of health. Community Health - Systems Health The nurse practitioner plays an active and critical role in community health and nursing. The nurse practitioner has the responsibility to provide health education and promotion and is in a unique position to do so. Due to the number of people that a nurse practitioner serves and provides care to, they can have a major impact on health promotion in the community. “Health promotion is defined as 'the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions” (Maijala et al., 2016, p. 453). The nurse practitioner should actively screen their patients for health risks and disease, promote good health habits, recommend and encourage appropriate vaccinations, and specific screenings for cancer and chronic conditions. The role of the nurse practitioner includes being an advocate and an educator and they should provide these services to individuals for the overall good of their community. Health promotion and education provided by the nurse practitioner, “…includes educating people about healthy lifestyles, risk reduction, developmental needs, activities of daily living, and preventive self-care” (Edelman & Kudzma, 2018, p. 225). Nurse practitioners often provide care to underserved and rural populations allowing them to provide education and health promotion to these populations that can be harder to reach. This can make a bigger impact on the overall health of the community. Nurse Practitioners can play a leading role in health screenings, health promotion, and education to make a positive change in the health of the community. References Edelman, C. L. & Kudzma, E. C. (2018). Health promotion throughout the life span (9th ed.). Mosby. Maijala, V., Tossavainen, K., & Turunen, H. (2016). Primary health care registered nurses’ types in implementation of health promotion practices. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 17(05), 453–463.