Theories of Nola Pender

Nola Pender - Background and Overview

Dr. Nola Pender is credited with developing the Health Promotion Model, which is internationally adopted for education, practice and research. In the course of her career as researcher, Dr. Pender tested the Health Promotion Model on adolescents and adults. She also formulated the "Girls on the Move" program with the aid of her research group, and started intervention studies into the Health Promotion Model's usefulness in assisting adolescents in adopting lifestyles that are physically active. The team developed various instruments to measure the model's components. In retirement, Dr. Pender is a health promotion research consultant, nationally as well as internationally (School of Nursing, 2015).

Teaching

Dr. Pender worked for more than forty years as a nurse educator. She taught PhD, masters, and baccalaureate students all through her career and has also mentored numerous post-doctoral fellows. She was the 1998 recipient of the University Of Michigan School Of Nursing's Mae Edna Doyle Teacher of the Year Award. Currently, she is a Distinguished Professor for the School of Nursing at Loyola University, Chicago (School of Nursing, 2015).

Affiliations / Service

Co-Founder, Midwest Nursing Research Society

Trustee, Midwest Nursing Research Society Foundation, 2009-present

Member, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 1998-2002

Member, Board of Directors, Research America, 1993-2000

President, American Academy of Nursing, 1991-1993

President, Midwest Nursing Research Society, 1985-1987

Member, American Nurses' Association, 1962-present (School of Nursing, 2015)

Reeves, J.A. (n.d.). Applying Pender's Health Promotion Model to Determine Occupational Exposures. Birmingham: University of Alabama Birmingham.

Introduction

This project's conceptual framework is the Health Promotion Model (HPM) formulated by Nola Pender. This model concentrates on interventions affecting communities, with the goal of producing healthier populations. Pender defines health as being more than just the non-existence of diseases, but being a dynamic, positive condition of well-being (Pender, 1996). Initially proposed in 1982 by Pender, the Health Promotion Model was revised in the year 1996. This model portrays individuals' complex nature, with interdependence on their environment to pursue health. Three concepts, central to the model, are reported by Pender (1996). These include: [1] individual experiences and characteristics; [2] behavior specific affect(s) and cognitions; and [3] behavioral results. Studies that utilize the reworked Pender model show that perceived benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy are greater influencers and better forecasters of behaviors that are health-related.

Synopsis

Migrants constitute a large proportion of U.S. farm-workers. Traveling across America, these workers in the agricultural sector are usually away from home and family. According to the National Center for Farmworker Health (2005), the United States (U.S.) employs roughly 4.5 million individuals, along with their dependents, for seasonal farm-work. Over 80% of these farm workers are of foreign origin, 95% being Mexicans. Moreover, the agricultural industry is categorized among the most hazardous employment sectors in America. Farming is accompanied by several safety risks. Occupational exposures relating to farming are particularly worrisome. Pesticide exposure leads to many occupational illnesses, such as respiratory illnesses, eye disorders, dermatitis, and cancer(s). Four criteria were used by the author from Dudley-Brown (1997), for evaluation of the Health Promotion Model, to ascertain its suitability to clinical issues at hand. Firstly, the model has proved fruitful, as it defines new phenomenon, revealing previously-unknown links between existing phenomena. Secondly, the model is recognized widely, and used by other professions, apart from nursing. Thirdly, it was tested across different cultures, and takes into account culturally congruent values, beliefs, expectations, and traditions, thus being suitable for socio-cultural use.

Conclusion

The author's creation and adoption of 2 forms of exposure history is central to the project. The author, in formulating the form, verifies the pesticide types used for different crops. Lack of farmer participation in revealing pesticide types used on crops is seen as obstacle to action. To surmount this obstacle, a consultation from the local-level health department was required, to determine the pesticides registered for utilization in each farm under study. This article is applicable as it uses Pender's model for farmers, exposed to various pesticides and suffering further illnesses.

As discussed above, the Health Promotion Model by Pender was used to help the farmers and their family overcomes the diseases that they may have experienced by being open to pesticides and different clinical problems that they faced. The model was tested culturally as well as from the clinical perspective and proved to be successful. The model by Pender provided a plan for healthier communities, and also provided three different concepts which further suited the environment. The model focused on behavioral affects, personal cognitions, and a person's own characteristics and experiences, which means that every person gets proper attention medically, thus, proving the success of Pender's model.

Lusk, S., Ronis, D., & Hogan, M. (1997). Test of the Health Promotion Model as a Causal Model of Construction Workers' Use of Hearing Protection. Research in Nursing & Health, 183-194.

Introduction

Hazardous noise serves as a significant occupational health issue, as it results in loss of hearing and may cause increased stress, in addition to other harmful physiological impacts. Over 30 million personnel face hazardous noise exposures at workplaces. Using hearing protection devices (HPDs), particularly ear muffs and ear plugs, has been known to lessen noise exposure, thus preventing and/or ameliorating noise-induced loss of hearing. Though no inclusive data base is available on the extent to which workers use HPDs in high-noise environments, studies reported that factory workers showed wholly inadequate self-reported and observed mean utilization of 54-62% (Lusk, Ronis, & Baer, 1995). The construction personnel sample used in the current research had self-reported mean utilization of 18-49% for HPD (Lusk, Ronis, & Baer, 1995). However, fairly few investigators have investigated factors responsible for low HPD use by personnel.

Synopsis

In this Health Promotion Model test, comparing the results obtained from testing the exploratory and theoretical models proved valuable. In each of the two models, 3 cognitive -- perceptual elements, self-efficacy, benefits (worth of use), and barriers, showed significant direct usage paths, with expected signs. Another cognitive -- perceptual element, namely perceived health, also proved to be a significant theoretical model predictor. In case of the exploratory model, while modifying elements were permitted to relate to usage directly, two elements (noise exposure and interpersonal modeling) became vital predictors. Pender's revised 1996 model includes modifying factors, demographic characteristics and situational factors, as directly influencing behavior.

Conclusion

The ability of the Health Promotion Model (HPM) to forecast behavior is recognized. However, further analyses on the model are required, especially since not all HPM components have been tested comprehensively. In the recent study, interpersonal effects, which hadn't been assessed with factory personnel, were revealed to strongly predict HPD use. Two elements in the earlier HPM- behavioral factors and biological characteristics- weren't measured. Despite the HPM being a causal, structural equation, modeling using cross-sectional data does not provide any evidence on causality directions among variables, in case of exceptions that involve designs of behavioral-genetic research, e.g. twin studies. Alternative models, along with one where every causal path is reversed, would suit the data just as well. Theory-based intervention tests and longitudinal studies, like the one currently being carried out by the researchers, are required for providing evidence on the causal nature and directions of such paths.