Saturday, 29 October 2011
Johnanna Lea Hernandez, PhD, RN, FNP-BC
School of Nursing, Texas Woman's University, Dallas, TX
Learning Objective 1: Identify barriers and facilitators to implementing health promotion in primary care.
Learning Objective 2: Assess factors relating prehypertension as a public and global health priority.
This qualitative study completed April 2010, utilizing narrative inquiry and the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, explored the meaning nurse practitioners ascribe to the experiences of caring for prehypertensive patients and related health promotion and disease prevention. In the United States the incidence of prehypertension is approximately 70 million individuals older than 20 years of age with almost double the number of men affected than women, 43 million versus 28 million (Chobanion, 2006; Chobanion, 2009; Egan, Nesbitt, & Julius, 2008; Wang & Wang, 2004). The primary recommendation for prehypertension is lifestyle modification requiring health promotion activities that historically form the foundation of the NP role of health promotion and disease prevention. Prehypertension is a national and international priority with one of the proposed objectives of Healthy People 2020 being to “increase the proportion of adults with prehypertension who meet the guidelines for body mass index, saturated fat consumption, sodium intake, physical activity, and moderate alcohol consumption” (Healthy People 2020, 2010, HP2020-14). The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the unprecedented threats to health today and the urgent need for health promotion (WHO, 2009).
Study data revealed caring for prehypertension in today’s health care environment is complex. Participants shared feelings of frustration and hope as the realities of practice and ambiguous role identity led to adaption of practice style bridging the nursing and medical models. Knowledge generated from this study will raise the consciousness of primary care providers regarding prehypertension and the realities of addressing health promotion and disease prevention in practice. Internationally, studies have been conducted focusing on prehypertension. Globally, prehypertension is a concern with the foundation of future studies underway between the researcher and colleagues in China investigating the cultural foundations surrounding prehypertensive individuals as one of the scientific avenues of exploration.
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