Health Promotion Case Study

This essay will critically discuss and analyse a health promotion scenario, chosen from a clinical placement, including the role of the health promoter in relation to various theories and definitions. In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2015) names have been changed and generalised to prevent patients, their family members and placement providers from being identified; to maintain confidentiality within the scenario.
Gladys is a 55 year old woman living within her own home, recently admitted to the local hospital after being found unconscious due to a suspected cardiovascular event. Gladys has a previous diagnosis of depression and is considered to be clinically overweight. She is the main carer for her husband, who is currently staying at a care home until Gladys is discharged from hospital.
Gladys admitted to the nurse that she had been experiencing regular chest pains for some time; however, she had been self-administering aspirin to herself, rather than go to the doctor. As I observed, the nurse explained to Gladys that she should have gone to the doctor straight away rather than self-medicate and stated that Gladys would need an angiogram to confirm a diagnosis and assess any trauma sustained. She also gave Gladys a copy of The Eatwell Plate and stated that Gladys would need to lose weight in order to prevent the event from happening again,

Despite the differing opinions of these models, health can mean various things to each individual and this definition can be affected by various aspects of that individual’s background, such as culture, personal experiences, social class, age, religious beliefs and gender (Nettleton