Application of Nursing Theory: Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model(HPM) Sample paper Healthcare Policy Issue

One of the major healthcare policy issues at both state and federal levels is the high cost of care. One of the reasons why the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented was to reduce healthcare costs by facilitating the transition to a value-based care system. In addition, the ACA focused on improving the affordability of healthcare by increasing the number of insured people in the country and containing insurance premium costs for people with preexisting conditions. Despite these interventions, healthcare costs continue to rise (Shrank et al., 2021). The high cost of healthcare is attributed to various factors including a high incidence of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s’ disease (CDC, 2021). As per Holman (2020) approximately 50 percent of people living in the U.S. suffer from at least one chronic illness. Since the 1950s, the incidence of chronic illnesses has increased dramatically such that in the past 20 years, prevalence rates have increased by approximately 8 million people every five years. Care provided to patients with chronic illnesses consumes 90 percent of the total costs which translates to approximately 43.8 trillion annually. These costs are expected to rise with the increase in the elderly population who are more likely to suffer from multiple illnesses.

One of the strategies that can be used to reduce healthcare costs is to implement policies that reduce the volume of healthcare services demanded by the general public.  Health promotion is an example of a strategy that can help control healthcare expenditure by reducing the incidence of these illnesses and facilitating effective management (Stadhouders et al., 2019).

Grab a top nursing paper on the Application of Nursing Theory. 

Application of the Health Promotion Model (HPM)

Most chronic illnesses such as obesity and diabetes can be prevented or effectively managed through behavioral interventions. These interventions must target modifiable risk factors especially those associated with an individual’s lifestyle such as smoking, physical activity, and alcohol consumption. The health promotion model (HPM) can be used as a framework to develop health education interventions at individual and community levels.  These interventions should entail assessing factors that limit commitment to healthy behavior development of strategies that encourage people to take action to improve their health status and general wellbeing (Gorbani et al., 2020). Nurses, especially community health and primary care nurses, are the only healthcare professionals who are embedded within individuals and communities and can help promote disease prevention by empowering patients and members of the community to make healthcare choices (Griffin, 2017).

Health promotion interventions designed to reduce the prevalence of chronic illnesses should focus on specific domains defined by the HPM including physical activity, nutrition, interpersonal relations, stress management, and spiritual growth. These domains should be implemented as part of patient education interventions provided to communities and patients in the country. The main focus of patient education should include creating awareness on chronic illnesses including the nature of these illnesses, non-modifiable risk factors such as age and genetics, and modifiable risk factors such as lifestyle. Patient education should also include emphasizing individual responsibility in health promotion, the importance of engaging in physical activity, consuming healthy food, effective stress management, and maintaining positive relationships (Hwang & Kim, 2020).

Nurses should also focus on patient-centered education sessions that will be developed based on personal experiences and situational influences. It is important to assess patient perspectives regarding their ability to engage in healthy behaviors, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and interpersonal influences that may either support or prevent them from healthy lifestyles. Nurses can also focus on influencing patients to be more committed to healthy behaviors by describing the benefits of healthy lifestyles including reduced risk of chronic illnesses, disability, and improved quality of life. In addition, nurses can help patients overcome barriers such as low socioeconomic status by referring them to community resources that will improve their financial wellbeing. Health promotion interventions should also include patient education targeting patients with chronic illnesses. Nurses should always provide education sessions that focus on effective disease management through lifestyle modification and adherence to the medication regimen. Such interventions reduce complications, emergency service use, and th