Pender’s-Health Promotion Model (PHPM) postulates that every person has exceptional attributes and understandings which influence their actions (McCutcheon, Schaar & Parker, 2016). Individuals have a particular set of variables for behavioral specific knowledge which acts as their motivation and can be modified through nursing actions. The endpoint in the model is the health-promoting behavior. The behaviors are vital to improving health and enhancing the functional ability in all life stages. The underlying assumptions of the model include the following. People have an active need to regulate their behavior. Individuals interact with their immediate environment, where they transform it and also get transformation from them McCutcheon, Schaar & Parker, 2016). Health professionals form part of the interpersonal situation which has a significant influence on people through their life. When seeking behavior change, self-initiated reconfiguration of the individual environment remains essential.
The following are the fundamental concepts of the model. They are a person, environment, nursing, and health. The person is the biopsychosocial organism which acquires shaping from the environment. It also endeavors to establish an environment that can lead to a full expression of the inherent and acquired potential McCutcheon, Schaar & Parker, 2016). The individual attributes together the experiences are essential in shaping behaviors including those that relate to health. The environment is the context in which life unfolds. It comprises of social, cultural and physical elements. Individuals manipulate the environment to make it a facilitator for enhancing good health behaviors. Nursing as a concept in the model refers to the integration of persons, families, and communities to establish the appropriate conditions for leading optimal health as well as high-level well-being. Finally, the health is the intrinsic and derived potential from goal-oriented behavior. It comes from self-care and the ability to enhance relationships with others. Particular alterations are required to ensure integrity with the associated environments.
The model has a simple structure making it easy to understand. It has a particular emphasis on promoting health and preventing diseases making it more applicable in community health setting. It is a source of health promoting interventions and education. Community health care setting remains an essential area for promoting good health as well as preventing diseases. With the model, it is easy to come up with community-based programs that can alleviate the well-being of the people. It can be easy to prevent diseases at the community level compared to those that focus on curing them.
I am an RN working in community health development and population health, and the theoretical framework can be used in your practice setting. For example, change in the people’s lifestyle and eating habits have resulted in an increased number of persons becoming overweight and obese. It is a chronic disease which poses higher risks to those affected by developing hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and declined quality of life (Khodaveisi et al. 2017). The prevalence of the diseases remains high. One significant approach to maintaining good health is by practicing health-promoting behaviors. Such behaviours are those that enable individuals to screen their health and can thus assist in improving health for the individuals and the community. Emphasising on the behavior instead of on knowledge makes education and intervention about nutrition effective (Khodaveisi et al. 2017). However, using PHPM, it is possible to advance the nutritional practice of the affected people. It can assist in planning and change unhealthy practices to promote health. Evidence indicates that it is effective in controlling unhealthy behaviors. It is anchored on the social cognitive theory because the influence of engaging in health-promoting behaviors lies on the perceptual factors of the perceived benefits, barriers and self-efficacy (Khodaveisi et al. 2017). The demographic characteristics, interpersonal influences, and behaviors factors are the modifying factors which when they interact they offer an impact on the perceptual process. The model comprises of variables which form part of the interventions.
According to Khodaveisi et al. (2017), Pender’s model when applied in training can produce a positive effect and improve the nutritional behaviors. Promoting the people’s knowledge about nutrition is a sure way of changing of nutritional behaviors. It can replace inappropriate nutritional behaviors with which are appropriate. The constituents of the healthy nutritional pattern are one that encompasses the nutritional habits, culture, and public knowledge.
Creating awareness through a nursing education program is essential. Participating in the program enables one to identify the risk factors of diseases from which they increase their knowledge after an educational intervention (Reeder & Williams, 2017). Behaviour-based interventions for disease control lack social support (Jackson et al. 2016). For example, when promoting nutritional behaviors through training programs, one would focus on creating awareness about healthy foods and their diversity, and suitable lifestyles such as engaging in physical activities and reducing sedentary behaviors.
In conclusion, the model is relevant in community health care setting in preventing illnesses. It enables people to adopt specific behaviors which improve their well-being. It assists in planning and changing unhealthy practices to promote health. For example, when applied in training can produce a positive effect and develop the nutritional behaviors. It, however, lacks social support which the health care professionals should capitalize on to ensure people embrace the appropriate actions.
- Jackson, H., Yates, B. C., Blanchard, S., Zimmerman, L. M., Hudson, D., & Pozehl, B. (2016). Behavior-specific influences for physical activity among African American women. Western journal of nursing research, 38(8), 992-1011.
- Khodaveisi, M., Omidi, A., Farokhi, S., & Soltanian, A. R. (2017). The Effect of Pender’s Health Promotion Model in Improving the Nutritional Behavior of Overweight and Obese Women .International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 5(2), 165– 174.
- McCutcheon, T., Schaar, G., & Parker, K. L. (2016). Pender’s Health Promotion Model and HPV Health-Promoting Behaviors among College-Aged Males: Concept Integration. Journal of Theory Construction & Testing, 20(1), 12.
- Reeder, M & Williams, C. (2017). Cardiovascular Disease in African-American Women: An Assessment of Awareness. ABNF Journal, 28(3), 76-80.