Preventive care plays a pivotal role in improving public health outcomes, reducing disease burden, and lowering healthcare costs. Nurses, as frontline healthcare professionals, nurses are key players in promoting and delivering preventive care services. This blog explores the importance of preventive care, the role of nurses in its implementation, and the overall impact on patient health.
What is Preventive Care?
Preventive care refers to healthcare services designed to prevent illness, detect health issues early, and promote healthy behaviors. These services include immunizations, cancer screenings, and lifestyle counseling to reduce risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity. Studies have shown that “receipt of preventive services is associated with a reduction in morbidity and mortality, most notably in the areas of cancer, chronic disease, infectious disease (immunizations), mental health, substance abuse, vision, and oral health” (1)
The Underutilization of Preventive Care
Despite the many benefits of preventive care, it remains underutilized in the general population. Research indicates that fewer than 8% of adults in the United States receive all the recommended preventive services . This gap in care is concerning because preventive measures can significantly reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases and improve overall public health outcomes. (2)
Nurses as Key Players in Preventive Care
Nurses are uniquely positioned to promote preventive care due to their direct and frequent interactions with patients. They play a critical role in patient education, disease screening, and encouraging healthy lifestyle behaviors. Nurses are often the first point of contact for patients, which gives them the opportunity to initiate conversations about preventive services and provide crucial information that empowers patients to make informed health decisions.
A study by Schor et al. demonstrated that preventive care outcomes improved when nurses were integrated into team-based models of care, compared to independent physician practices. These models showed higher rates of preventive care services such as blood tests, lipid level assessments, and influenza vaccinations. This highlights the importance of collaborative care models where nurses and other health professionals work together to deliver comprehensive preventive care.
The Benefits of Preventive Care
Preventive care not only benefits individual patients by detecting diseases early, but it also contributes to the sustainability of the healthcare system. When diseases like cancer or diabetes are caught in the early stages, treatment is often more effective and less expensive. “A transition from disease treatment to prevention can reduce the incidence of chronic disease and decrease the cost of healthcare“. By preventing the onset of chronic conditions, healthcare systems can alleviate the financial strain associated with long-term disease management. (3)
Barriers to Preventive Care
There are several barriers that limit the widespread adoption of preventive services. These include lack of access to healthcare, financial constraints, and insufficient system capacity to deliver preventive care to all who need it. Nurses play a key role in addressing these barriers. By educating patients and advocating for necessary resources, nurses help mitigate challenges that prevent individuals from receiving appropriate preventive care.
Strategies to Enhance Preventive Care Delivery
To maximize the role of nurses in preventive care, healthcare systems must implement strategies that foster interprofessional collaboration and ongoing education for nurses. For instance, a non-randomized controlled trial found that practice interventions involving local leadership, educational meetings, and performance monitoring led to significant improvements in the provision of preventive care for behaviors like smoking, alcohol overconsumption, and physical inactivity. These interventions demonstrate the effectiveness of structured support and training in enhancing preventive care delivery. (4)
Conclusion
Nurses are at the forefront of promoting preventive care, offering patients valuable guidance on health maintenance and disease prevention. With their extensive patient contact and role in multidisciplinary teams, nurses are crucial in closing the gap between the availability and utilization of preventive services. To fully leverage the potential of preventive care, healthcare systems must invest in training and support for nurses, encourage collaborative care models, and work to eliminate barriers to accessing care. Doing so will not only improve individual patient outcomes but also lead to a healthier, more sustainable healthcare system.
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References:
- Fowler, T., Garr, D., Mager, N. D. P., & Stanley, J. (2020). Enhancing primary care and preventive services through Interprofessional practice and education. Israel journal of health policy research, 9(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-020-00371-8
- Borsky, A., Zhan, C., Miller, T., Ngo-Metzger, Q., Bierman, A. S., & Meyers, D. (2018). Few Americans Receive All High-Priority, Appropriate Clinical Preventive Services. Health affairs (Project Hope), 37(6), 925–928. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1248
- Levine S, Malone E, Lekiachvili A, Briss P. Health Care Industry Insights: Why the Use of Preventive Services Is Still Low. Prev Chronic Dis 2019;16:180625. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd16.180625
- McElwaine, K.M. et al. (2014) ‘Increasing Preventive Care by Primary Care Nursing and Allied Health Clinicians: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial’, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(4), pp. 424–434. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.06.018