Strategies for maintenance of health-promoting behaviors.
With our understanding of health expanding to include a dynamic of well-being, definitions of health vary, and activities associated with health promotion and disease prevention often overlap. Consequently, studies of health-promotion research include risk reduction. Most nursing studies are descriptive and cross-sectional, and although other disciplines report more intervention efforts, the same theoretic, definitional, and measurement issues exist in all studies. Women, older adults, and those better educated report a greater number of health-promoting behaviors and engage in a healthier lifestyle. An individual's view of health may affect his or her motivation to perform health-promoting behaviors. Removal of barriers, creation of supportive environments, and a strong sense of self-efficacy are important aspects of adoption and maintenance of health-promoting behaviors. Development of self-efficacy should be an integral part of health-promotion programs as increases in self-efficacy have been shown to precede the adoption and maintenance of health-promoting behaviors. Goal setting, contracting, and other behavioral techniques can help an individual develop competence in self-regulation of behavior. Outcomes of research must be congruent with the long-range view that promotion of health implies. Short-term outcomes may continue to be specific, but longer-term indicators will be more comprehensive. Measurement difficulties include evaluation of large-scale programs over extended periods, accounting for positive change in samples in which some persons already maintain health-promoting behaviors and proxy measures for future health. Future attention must be directed toward promoting healthy lifestyles and development of "wellness" thinking.
University of Texas, Austin School of Nursing.
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D001294:Attitude to Health; D004777:Environment; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D016294:Models, Nursing; D009042:Motivation; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015399:Nursing Research; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors