The United States healthcare has, for a long time, focused mainly on treatment, with doctors taught and trained to fight diseases. In 2017, Dr. Tom Price, the secretary for health and human services, stated that taxpayers’ money designated for healthcare should be directed towards prevention more than treatment. With time, preventive healthcare has become increasingly popular. Methods have been put in place to educate the public on how to avoid certain illnesses and to improve their general wellbeing (Campbell, 2017). Within the healthcare industry, the advent of health care reform, coupled with the increasing number of people suffering from chronic illnesses, has contributed to the change or transformation in the role of nurses.
When it comes to preventative healthcare, nurses have been given the responsibility to improve the health of patients using evidence-based interventions as they encourage people to get regular preventative services such as medications, counseling, and screening. Nurses also use the platform of public health education to reach larger groups of people. With this platform, nurses are able to inspire people to lead healthier lifestyles (Benedictine University, 2016). Below are some of the specific areas through which nurses educate the public on preventative healthcare.
- Encouraging people to do regular exercise by promoting regular activities to help combat high blood pressure, heart conditions, arthritis, diabetes, and stroke, among others.
- Promoting weight management which helps prevent diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and obesity.
- Encouraging moderate alcohol consumption among people who consume alcohol. This helps these individuals prevent diseases such as liver cirrhosis and other forms of cancer-related to excessive alcohol consumption (Benedictine University, 2016).
Generally, nurses play a significant role in advocating for healthy lifestyles that will ensure better health and fewer instances of disease and illness.