Health Promotion Education in Child Daycare

Health is a topic that has been a major subject in my life. From cardiovascular disease running in my family tree, to all of the new research running on Instagram pages on new diets, medications and lifestyle changes that I scroll through every day. Health has been integrated into my everyday life without even realizing it. Personally, I never new health had more than one definition. I always looked at health through the biomedical lens. If I had no disease, I considered myself healthy. If I was not in the hospital or did not need to go to the doctor’s office, I thought of myself as healthy. With health being the topic of my generation, I have always been a little bit confused on what being healthy really looks like. As a future nurse it is important for me to understand my own personal beliefs and values on what health is to me and to understand the concepts of health so I can practice the use of health promotion as way for others to guide healthier lives.

Beliefs and Values About Health

Being anemic and a pre-diabetic, I have always been concerned about my health. Throughout high school I had a very negative definition of what it means to be healthy. With the constant brain washing of social media I believed I was only healthy if I was skinny enough or if my clothes fit right. Not only did this impact my health physically but it also impacted my health mentally and socially. This caused me to develop an eating disorder and a negative relationship with food. During this time, I did not take into consideration of my mental health as I was more concerned with my appearances rather than how I felt. The first time my beliefs and values ever changed on health was when I was hospitalized in grade ten for my severe anemia. It was my nurse who had the conversation with me regarding my health. He asked me what I was doing to take care of myself and id there were certain strategies that I used to better my conditions. The only answer I could think of was taking my iron pills daily. This was the turning point in my life where I learned that it is not just medications that will better me; I need to change my lifestyle as a whole to be healthy. Health is not just the absence of disease, but it is also “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being” (WHO, 1948). Therefore, my beliefs and values are now the opposite of what I originally associated health with.

Comparing my health from the past to now, I can say I am at my healthiest I have ever been. Although I still live with the symptoms of my chronic conditions, I make sure that I do everything so that I feel good internally and externally. Examples of what I do to maintain my health is constantly communicating about my feelings to my family and friends, eating a well-balanced diet, and going to the gym five times a week as it reduces my anxiety. The new approach is more of a holistic approach of health. As a future nurse, it is important for me to understand this approach because alternative approaches to health aside from western medicine such as changes in diet, spiritual health, changes in diet and relationships are all ways to balance health and promote wellness (Wilson, 2012, p. 4). As a new nurse it is crucial, I revolve health around the holistic approach and use health promotion strategies to give my patients or clients their own ability to make their own choices in bettering their health (Tannahill, 1985, p. 167).

Knowledge Gained From 288

Before starting nursing I had very limited knowledge on health and health promotion. After the first couple of nursing classes, the gap in my knowledge regarding health and using health promotion in a community based context has filled very quickly.

Health promotion is essential because it enables people to increase control over their health. As mentioned earlier, most people believe that their health is good when they are not feeling sick. However, there is more to health than visiting the doctor when one feels sick.

I have learned that community participation is a central part of health promotion. Community-based approaches are the most effective in health promotion. Thus, it is crucial to implement community-oriented health promotions to help people take control of their health. Childcare is a vital element in society. Children are fragile, and during their developmental stage, thus, their caregivers need to be educated on how to control the health of the children. 75% of children who are younger than five years are in some form of daycare for at least part of the day (Gupta et al., 2005, p. 1). Therefore, it is essential to incorporate health promotional activities in childcare settings seeing that daycare centers play a significant role in childcare.

Many childcare directors fail to provide health education to caregivers due to insufficient funds (Gupta et al., 2005, p. 5). The healthcare system can intervene by providing free caregiving classes to people operating daycares. Using the population health approach model, caregivers can learn about important aspects such as logging in the activity of a child. By registering children’s activities, the caregivers can quickly note a change in the behavior of a child and report it to their parent. Caregivers in daycare centers should also receive basic first aid training which they can use in case of emergencies. Also, it is essential to train the caregivers about the common ailments that attack children and how to cure them at home. Integrating caregivers at daycare centers in the health of children is an effective means of promoting children’s health and development in childcare.

References

Gupta, R. S., Shuman, S., Taveras, E. M., Kulldorff, M., & Finkelstein, J. A. (2005). Opportunities for health promotion education in child care. Pediatrics, 116(4), e499-e505.

Tannahill, A. (1985). What is health promotion? Health Education Journal, 44(4), 167–168. doi: 10.1177/001789698504400402

Wilson, D. R. (2012). Strategies for integration. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 27(3), 4+. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/apps/doc/A302298493/AONE?u=ucalgary&sid=AONE&xid=632901fd

World Health Organization. (1948). Preamble to the constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference. New York, June 19–22, 1946; signed on July 22, 1946, by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on April 7, 1948