Family in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Definitions:

Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and improve it. It aims to engage and empower individuals and communities to choose healthy behaviors and make changes that reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and other morbidities. It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions.

Disease prevention covers measures not only to prevent the occurrence of disease but also to arrest disease progression and reduce its consequences once established. However, both health promotion and disease prevention programs focus on keeping people healthy. Disease prevention focuses on specific efforts aimed at reducing the development and severity of chronic diseases.

Health promotion and disease prevention programs often address social determinants of health, which influence modifiable risk behaviors. Social determinants of health include economic, social, cultural, and political conditions in which people are born, grow, and live.

Family Health Promotion

This can be defined as ‘the process by which families work to improve or maintain the physical well-being of the family unit and its members’.

The family influences the attitudes and active decisions made by an individual that contribute to positive health behaviors and outcomes.

Modifiable Risk Factors Include:

• Alcohol and tobacco use
• Poor eating habits
• Lack of physical activity/sedentary lifestyle
• Weight and nutrition
• Cardiovascular risk

Family Influence on Disease Occurrence

This can be observed in:

• Shared lifestyles
• Attitudes, and interests
• Genetics and hereditary diseases

• Adoption of Healthy Habits
• Offer Emotional Support
• Practical Assistance
• Accompanying During Clinic Visits
• Assistance in Managing Chronic Conditions
• Family Healthcare Plans

Adoption of Healthy Habits

Family members can encourage each other to eat healthily, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and avoid unhealthy habits such as smoking and excessive drinking.

By making healthy choices together, family members can support each other and stay motivated.

Risky health behaviors tend to cluster within families because they share similar diets, environments, and habits.

Offer Emotional Support

Family members can provide emotional support during times of stress and illness.

The initial diagnosis can be difficult to accept for both the patient and his/her family.

Stress can significantly impact physical health, and having a supportive family can help reduce stress levels.

Family members can offer a listening ear, provide practical support, and help to alleviate anxiety and worry.

Support may include encouraging patients to express their feelings and difficulties and instilling hope about getting better.

Practical Assistance

This can include taking care of household chores, running errands, and providing transportation to medical appointments.

Assistance in Managing Chronic Conditions

• Family members can support each other in managing chronic conditions.
• Chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease require ongoing management.
• Family members can play an essential role in supporting each other.
• This may involve reminding each other to take medication.
• Choosing one of the ideal family insurance plans.
• Helping with meal planning.
• Providing emotional support during difficult times.

Pediatric Illnesses

Parents, family structure, and ability to function have an integral effect on the course of a child's illness or medical condition.

Chronic family conflict, parental indifference, and low cohesion have all been associated with poor metabolic control in diabetes, while clear family organization and high parental self-esteem correlate with good control.

Family Elements

Family elements associated with good outcomes in children with chronic illnesses and disabilities include:

1. Balancing the illness with other family needs.
2. Maintaining clear boundaries.
3. Developing communication competence.
4. Attributing positive meaning to the situation.
5. Maintaining family flexibility.
6. Maintaining family cohesiveness.
7. Engaging active coping efforts.
8. Maintaining social supports.
9. Developing collaborative relationships with professionals.

Family Caregiving of Elders

With the population aging, longer lifespans, the rising rate of disabling conditions, and dwindling resources available for professional caregiving, the burden of caring for the elderly is falling to family members. Research has demonstrated that caregiving exerts a heavy toll on family members.

Family Healthcare Plans

Financial hardship is brought on by increased healthcare expenditures, particularly during medical emergencies.

Thus, to ensure good health, family insurance plans have developed into a crucial requirement in today's society. Family health insurance plans offer a cost-effective and hassle-free way to cover everyone in your family.

Sstrategies for Implementing Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programmes

1. General Medical Examination

   This is a common form of preventive medicine involving visits to a Family Physician or General Practitioner by well feeling adults on a regular basis. The aim is to detect early signs of disease and prevent them from occurring, progressing or total elimination.

2. Pre-school Medical Examination

   Medical examination done before full admission is to a desiring pupil or student. It is important in identifying abnormalities in physical, mental, and social well-being of prospective pupil/student that may affect their academic activities.

3. Pre-Employments

   It provides a baseline health assessment for a worker before they enter a role with an employer. It assists with risk management and identifies whether a worker is medically suitable in the role in which they are applying.

4. Pre-Placement
   • Usually undertaken at the request of an employer as part of the risk assessment process and only after a job offer has been made.
   • Assessment of fitness and medical suitability for the role assigned or to be assigned.
   • Identification of pre-existing conditions and/or risk factors that may help lower workers' compensation and general disability claims.
   • Ensuring the long-term health of employees, particularly those who may be exposed to potentially harmful substances or hazardous working conditions.
5. PERIODIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION:
   • Focuses on any occupational health damage risks concerning employees within your company.
   • Looks at the lifestyle, workability, and health of the employees.
6. WELLNESS MEDICAL EXAMINATION:
   • Scheduled appointment with your primary care provider to create or update a personalized prevention plan.
   • This plan may help prevent illness based on your current health and risk factors.
   • Wellness visit provides your doctor with a status update on your overall health.
7. HEALTH EDUCATION:
   • Process of educating people about their health.
   • Builds knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes about their health.
   • Teaches about physical, mental, emotional, and social health.
   • Motivates people to improve and maintain their health, prevent disease occurrence, and reduce risk behaviors.
8. COUNSELLING:
   • Process that occurs when a client and counselors set aside time to explore difficulties, which may include the stressful or emotional feelings of the client.
9. INFORMED CONSENT:
   • Process for getting permission before conducting a healthcare intervention on a person or before disclosing personal information to a third party.
   • Permission must be granted in full knowledge of the possible consequences.
   • Given by a patient to a doctor for treatment with the knowledge of the possible risks and benefits.
   COMPONENTS OF AN INFORMED CONSENT:
   1. Full disclosure of the illness, disease, research, and the participant's involvement.
   2. Adequate comprehension on the part of the potential patient or participant.
   3. The patient or participant’s voluntary choice to participate.
10. UNIVERSAL PRECAUTION:
    • Refers to the practice of avoiding contact with patient bodily fluids.
    • Universally accepted contaminants include: blood, all body fluids and secretions, non-intact skin, mucous membranes.
    Components of Universal Precautions:
    1. Hand hygiene.
    2. Gloves wearing.
    3. Facial protection with face mask.
    4. Gown for general body protection.
    5. Prevention of needle prick and injury from sharp objects.
    6. Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
    7. Linens.
    8. Waste disposal.
    9. Patient care equipment/instrument.
    10. Concept of PPE.

• Family inclusion may encourage preventive behaviors and, as a result, increase primary prevention of diseases among other family members.
• Including family in primary and secondary prevention strategies may enhance existing interventions by exposing the whole family to positive management methods and reinforcing better outcomes for family members with diseases.
• Risky health behaviors may also be seen within the family and may predispose to health conditions.
• Various strategies need to be in place to ensure adequate health promotion and prevention.