Patient education and wellness

Documentations which give insights about healthy living is arguably one contributing factor to patient wellness. In addition, existing literature helps in passing knowledge about best practices that will bar infections from the body. Patient education provides a way to internalize causative agents of diseases and subsequently promote best practices that counters its impact. Besides, effective patient education plans save the health facility the cost of responding to a patient’s recurrent infections which could be mitigation through awareness creation. At the epitome of patient education and wellness is the wellness continuum which emphasizes the need to transition from treatment needs to that of healthy living. Golper argued that vital decisions about health are attained when doctors become “effective patient educators and work well with other providers,” (2001, p.

Effective patient education process requires the engagement of community health workers, who deliver lessons either during medical consultation training. Strohecker (2005, p. 54) describes the quest for wellness as a universal standard for addressing the “physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of our lives. ” Consequently, the connection between wellness and education is in understanding that education provides needed knowledge in enhancing wellness (Whitehead, 2006, p. Indeed, the patient education process needs intensive literature that provides vital information about lifestyles, including forms of the disease, prevention measures. The essence of promoting knowledge about health issues is to limit occurrences of illness, which according to Travis (2005) should be a shift from treatment paradigm to wellness paradigm. The illness-wellness continuum Premised on the philosophical works of John Travis (2005), the illness-wellness continuum is a demonstration of the relationship between healthy living and deaths.

Travis argues that “wellness is a way of life. ” As a result, the interlink between healthy living and the impact of diseases depends on the choices one pursues. Therapeutic approach encompasses delivery of drugs, acupuncture, or even delivery of herbs. It is purposed to review and treat the condition and change the lifestyle towards wellness. The treatment paradigm focuses on changing the deteriorating health condition towards neutral, and eventually to the apex of life (Mackintosh, 1996). The wellness paradigm aims at improving the ‘way of life. ’ While those who may not need to go through the treatment paradigm may see themselves as living well, education will imbue in them reasons why an individual’s lifestyle can inherently be interlocked with the complications attributable to the influence of physical and psychological environment.

An essential component in the process of sharing information is the documentation process. Documentation includes identifying educational needs of the patients, classifying barriers, and the experience with the patient education. Some of the crucial areas that patient education should compose may include psychological issues, culture, and its diversity, hearing and vision; with each complication set to acquire knowledge in the medium they best understand. Cook et al. mentioned the link between health care system and patient treatment plans as improved through effective patient education plans. Patients in critical health conditions require information about their lifestyles for proper medical treatment plans. Nurses and medical attendants in the ICU wards need the information to understand the medical history of the patient, seek results for growth and undoubtedly hatch proper approaches to addressing their complications.

The essence of patient education is to create awareness about the need to change lifestyle as well as promote wellness. Management of patients both at the health facility and at home is premised on the understanding of their needs (Jennings & Slavin, 2015, p. Moreover, patients who understand their health have an advantage during diagnosis and are quickly put under medication relevant to their medical history. Indeed, as knowledge increases, it becomes easier to manage the health of patients. Mehta et al. contend when patients are informed about an aspect of healthcare management, t becomes easy to handle their complications, contribute to a reduction in death cases and relieves the hospital facilities the pressure of escalating medical costs. Stara and Charvat (2016) conducted a content analysis of wellness and healthy lifestyle and defined the possible implications of wellness education.

After a rigorous evaluation of literature published in the previous years, results were analyzed, and findings presented. Ranging from the integration of trends, technologies to emerging opportunities, patient education enhances patient expectations through continuous supply of trusted and credible information sources and facilitators. With increased integration of technology in medical and social practice, it is necessary to transmit health education through interactive platforms like email, Twitter, wikis, RSS feeds, YouTube. It is vital that patients understand the state of their health and best alternatives to evade occurrence of illness. The focus should always indicate a shift from the direction of building disease to that of improving wellness. Patient education is at the crux of realizing better healthcare in health units. Cruz, Y.