Health Promotion in Care Directed by Nurse Practitioners

This descriptive exploratory study examined health promotion activities in clinical practice among nurse practitioners attending a statewide professional conference. Eighty-one attendees participated in focused interviews in which they were asked to discuss health promotion and suggest how it could be enhanced in practice. Most participants acknowledged the value of health promotion activities but cited numerous obstacles to including this activity during patient care encounters. Obstacles included time constraints, increasing complexity of patient care, limitations on scope of practice, and provision of care for a population that is not appropriate for health promotion.