Abstract

Health promotion has become a major factor in the practice of modern medicine for reasons such as cost effectiveness, disease prevention, and health promotion. Nurse practitioners are on the forefront in educating the public about health promotion practices. The purpose of this study was to describe the health promotion practices of nurse practitioners who practice in the state of Mississippi. Pender's (1992) Health Promotion Model which uses wellness orientation guided the research. The study addressed the question: What are the health promotion practices of nurse practitioners who practice in the state of Mississippi? The sample was comprised of all nurse practitioners in the state of Mississippi who returned the questionnaire. The research design was a nonprobability convenience sample. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II developed by Pender, Sechrist, and Walker (1995) was used to measure health-promoting lifestyle. A researcher- developed questionnaire was attached to the survey to request demographic data and ask open-ended questions on the individual reasons for practicing health promotion. Data were collected by a mailed survey. The results showed nurse practitioners did engage in health-promoting iii behaviors, but they were least likely to engage in physical activities. Most nurse practitioners reported lack of time as the most frequent reason for not engaging in health-promoting behaviors. The study was limited in that it did not request information on smoking. Recommendations for future studies include replication of the current studies with more specifics toward health- promoting behaviors and studies in the area of patient beliefs about nurse practitioners and their health- promoting behaviors.

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Graduate Nursing

Degree Date

8-1-1996

Publication Number

27924533

First Advisor

Lorraine Hamm

Second Advisor

Clara Rustin

Document Type

Thesis

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