Health Promotion, Heath Literacy, Patient Education

What is health?

• state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

How is illness defined?

• state in which a person’s physical, emotional, intellectual, social, developmental, or spiritual functioning is diminished or impaired

What is acute illness?

• short duration and severe (<6 mo.)

• Reversible, abrupt, subsides

What is chronic illness?

• persists longer than 6 months

• irreversible

what is health promotion?

• protects health

• enhances levels of wellness

What is illness prevention?

• decreases exposure to risk factors of illness, disease, or trauma

• three levels (primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention)

What is primary prevention?

• primary = prevents

• health promotion/minimizing chance of developing illness

• True prevention lowers the chances that an illness will develop

  • Ex: immunizations, personal hygiene, hearing protection, etc.

What is secondary prevention?

• Secondary = slows

• Screening for illness in early stages (before signs and symotoms)

  • Ex: screening for obese patient for DM (screening for early or asymptomatic disease), mammogram, colonoscopy, isolating after infectious exposure

What is tertiary prevention?

• Tertiary = treat

• Preventing progression of disease and complications

  • Ex: how can we make this disease or illness the most “livable” for the patient? Controlling BG levels with DM, OT for spinal cord injury, etc.

What is health education?

• helps people develop a greater understanding of their health and how to better manage their health risks

What is health literacy?

• degree to which individuals can find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others

What determines ones health literacy?

• Educational level of client

• Difficulty level of reading material

• Native language of client

What happens with low literacy skills?

• the pt is unlikely to properly understand health-related info

• even people w/Good literacy skills may find it challenging to understand healthcare info (medical terminology, how the body works, how to navigate healthcare system)

What are the different ways to evaluate patient learning?

• Teach back or return demonstration: “pt completed return demonstration of subcutaneous insulin administration”

• Verbalizing understanding: “pt verbalized understanding of these instructions”

• Written validation: signature on discharge papers