The three different levels of health promotion (primary, secondary, and tertiary) aim at
improving the overall health of the population (Pender, Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002). In this case,
the first level which is primary prevention is geared at addressing the overall health while the
second level (secondary) aims at improving the secondary prevention. The third level (tertiary) is
geared towards treatment and recovery interventions (Pender, Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002). The
primary health promotion entails the interventions that are implemented before the occurrence of
health effects and include measures like vaccinations and changing the risky behaviors (Pender,
Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002). On the other hand, secondary health promotion entails actions or
interventions that aim at early detection of disease before onset of symptoms and signs.
Examples of secondary health promotion entail routine blood pressure testing. Lastly, tertiary
health promotion includes the management of identified disease and stoppage of progression by
measures like rehabilitation (Pender, Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002). In this case, primary and
secondary health promotion aim at prevention unlike tertiary interventions that aims at treatment
and recovery from adverse effects of the disease (Pender, Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002).
The three levels determine educational needs for a patient since minimal education is
needed at the primary level since the interventions may be targeted at the wider community or
national population. An example is vaccination of new borne children. The secondary level
requires adequate education and literacy since efforts are targeted to individuals who are at risk
(Pender, Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002). For instance, controlling of risk factors like smoking
cessation and cancer screening is common at secondary level and required individual patients to
have adequate education of safety measures that can control the risk (Pender, Murdaugh &
Parsons, 2002). Likewise, the tertiary level require high education standards since individuals
suffer from ill health and thus must adhere to outlined treatment plan in order to achieve positive
health outcomes. In this case, an individual should stick to medication and treatment plan
without fail (Pender, Murdaugh & Parsons, 2002).
References:
Pender, N.J, Murdaugh, C & Parsons, M.A. (2002). Health promotion in nursing practice.
London: Prentice Hall.