What is it about?

Since the late 1980s, there has been a consistent call from nursing's advisory and legislative bodies to incorporate the discipline of health promotion into the nursing profession. On reflection, however, evidence indicates that despite these calls there has not been a universal uptake of health promotional activity into the profession. What is evident is that where health promotional activity does take place, it occurs more in the community than in the acute setting. This article sets out to explore the reasons for this. It suggests that certain current and future activities may help to further promote the universal adoption of health promotion within nursing practice.

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Why is it important?

The article is an early attempt to highlight the important place of health promotion and health education as it relates to the two main settings of clinical practice - the acute sector and the community setting (public health). It compares and contrasts the two.

Perspectives

Traditionally, the community setting has been seen as most appropriate setting for broad-based approaches to health promotion - but the acute sector has an important part to play. Acute healthcare services should be an integral part of the community setting - not seperate to it.

Dr Dean Whitehead
Flinders University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: The nature of health promotion in acute and community settings, British Journal of Nursing, April 1999, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/bjon.1999.8.7.6653.
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