Alz Nurs Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Nursing

Alz Nurs

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Nursing Interventions for Health Promotion in Relation to Alzheimer's

Health promotion in relation to Alzheimer's is defined in terms of mental faculties, with continuing abilities or slower rates of degradation in those already diagnosed with Alzheimer's counted as signs of successful interventions (Rolland et al. 2007; Rolland et al. 2008). As of yet, the precise cause(s) of the disease and its progression are still unknown to medical researchers and practitioners, which somewhat limits the degree of health promotion that is available at the three levels of interventions and care practices, and so health promotion in regard to Alzheimer's largely consists of basic lifestyle adjustments that can be made to prevent, counter, or ease the symptoms of the disease (Mahon & Sorrell 2008; Rolland et al. 2007; Rolland et al. 2008). Health promotion generally is about improving or maintaining the patient's quality of life, and that is what treatment practices for Alzheimer's entails.

The purpose of health promotion in nursing practice is to provide patients with not only the care but also the skills and perspectives necessary for maintaining or improving quality of life by restoring normalcy to the body's functions. When it comes to Alzheimer's specifically, health promotion in nursing practice includes engaging in specific tasks and activities that promote memory retention and other mental functions, and that reduces the degradation of these functions over the course of the disease's progression (Rolland et al. 2007). Other levels and types of care are also provided, yet it is this specific function that most qualifies as health promotion in relation to Alzheimer's disease and nursing practice.

Nursing roles in the health promotion of patient's with Alzheimer's have advanced considerably over the past decade, as functional and lifestyle interventions have been increasingly explored and supported in empirical research (Mahon & Sorrel 2008; Rolland et al. 2007). Nursing in general has taken on more active roles in many different clinical settings as well as in the general promotion and/or maintenance of health during this period, and both the development and the implementation of intervention strategies for Alzheimer's have been carried out by nurses to a degree substantially similar in size and effectiveness (though from a very different perspective) to that of physicians (Rolland et al. 2008). As the health promotion strategies of the nursing profession continue to prove more and more effective, they will also become more widespread, driving nursing efficacy and progressing the nursing profession.

One of the key methods in nursing practice for health promotion in Alzheimer's is encouraging and facilitating a more active lifestyle, which has been demonstrated as effective at all levels of intervention (Rolland et al. 2007; Rolland et al. 2008; Mahon & Sorrell 2008). Physical activity can help to improve mental functioning as well as prevent degradation, especially when combined with other interventions, activities, and efforts (Rolland et al. 2008; Mahon & Sorrell 2008). This intervention relates to all areas of nursing, from direct clinical assessment and practice to lifestyle and familial interventions, and has been demonstrated to improve health using medical measures and to improve quality of life according to more qualitative patient measurements (Rolland et al. 2007; Rolland et al. 2008).