Integration of Health Promotion into Nursing Practice: A Case Study in Pakistan
M. A. Vastani, R. Karmalani, P. M. Petrucka
2016
Open Journal of Nursing
The purpose of this study was to understand the concept of health promotion and perceptions related to the integration of health promotion in nursing practice in Pakistan. The study utilized the qualitative single case study approach to explore and describe the concept of health promotion, its significance and ways to integrate health promotion strategies in nursing practice. The data were collected from three different sources; focus group discussion among final year Post-RN BScN students, key
more »
... informant interviews of practicing nurses, faculty, and MScN students, as well as a document review of the Post-RN BScN curriculum. Data analysis included a content and thematic analysis, yielding four major themes-"Health Promotion as Diverse", "Health Promotion as Necessary", "Health Promotion as Nursing Role", and "Health Promotion as a Strategic Imperative". Further, the findings highlighted the competencies, support mechanisms, and barriers which select nurses faced while integrating the health promotion strategies in practice. Keywords Health Promotion, Pakistan, Nursing, Integration health promotion not only to the mainstream but to the forefront of nursing practice" [30] . Both key informant and focus group participants mentioned their understanding of the potential for nursing to undertake a more significant role in health promotion especially citing their awareness of the socio-economic determinants and community development capacities. The common strategies for health promotion in nursing practice mentioned by participants, regardless of setting, were health education, role modeling, and preventive measures. Overall, the prominent and frequent mentioned strategy reported in both the setting of hospital and community was health education. Of note, it was often acknowledged by the participants that, although as students they were integrating health promotion elements into their nursing care, once they were in practice they seldom integrated such strategies-which clearly indicates a knowledge to practice inconsistency. According to the Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice [31] , there are eight domains of competencies including analytical/assessment skills, policy development/program planning skills, communication skills, cultural competency skills, community dimensions of practices skills, public health science skills, financial planning and management skills, and leadership and systems thinking skills. There is close alignment of these domains with the knowledge, skills, and abilities outlined by the participants and extracted from the documents. Of note, aside from the public health science skills, and specifics such as financial planning systems thinking skills, the lists are highly synergistic.
doi:10.4236/ojn.2016.61004
fatcat:tqd4jh7rdbbktkw74uysczf4z4