00:01
I’m Jessica Spellman, and this is lifestyle
choice, high-risk behavior, and self-care.
00:07
The objectives of this course are for you
to be able to identify lifestyle choices and
high-risk behaviors that increase risk
of developing disease or injury. To educate
patients regarding importance of self-care
in managing illness and injury. Lifestyle
choices are behaviors, habits, and practices
made by individuals. They are influenced by
family, peers, friends, and personal beliefs.
Examples of lifestyle choices include where
you live, your occupation, religious preferences,
drinking, smoking and diet, choices, physical
activities, sports, use of drugs or alcohol,
or wearing a seatbelt. Again, those are all
examples. That’s not an all inclusive list.
So, how does lifestyle affect your health?
Lifestyle choices are one controllable means
of preventing disease and injury, but very
difficult to modify once bad habits develop.
So lifestyle choices that increase the likelihood
of disease are considered high-risk behaviors.
High-risk behaviors include overweight, high-fat
diet, being sedentary and smoking can increase
the risk for hypertension and heart disease.
01:26
Unprotected sex increases the risk for STDs,
HIV, and AIDS, as well as unexpected pregnancy.
01:34
Not wearing your seatbelt increases the risk
of injury if you have a car accident.
01:39
And smoking increases the risk of developing
lung cancer.
01:43
I think it’s important to note that not
all diseases or injuries are preventable.
01:49
Identifying and modifying high-risk behavior is
one intervention that individuals can control
that may lead to positive health outcomes
and prevent illness or injury. So the roles
of nurses are to assess patients for at-risk
behavior, educate patients about consequences
of their behavior, and discuss ways to modify
their behavior. Be knowledgeable about effective
teaching principles to maximize learning. Assess
patients for the ability to apply teaching
and implement self-care. And for patients
that are unable to care for themselves, make
referrals and coordinate services to meet
patient needs.
02:29
Nurses are great educators. Successful education
promotes self-care behaviors that will empower
individuals to care for their illness and
injury without assistance. Things to keep
in mind when teaching patients: actively listening
to patients and their concerns helps you to
focus education on those concerns, being self-aware,
prevent patients from feeling judged, assess
patients’ knowledge and build on it. Take
into consideration age and developmental stage,
as well as social determinants of health,
literacy level, language spoken, technology
available, finances, and insurance coverage.
Identify barriers patients are having and
provide patient-centered teaching to help
them overcome those barriers.
03:18
A few more teaching tips: use a variety of
teaching methods. Visual learners prefer visual
aids, videos, handouts to enhance their learning.
Auditory learners prefer to listen to material
through lecture or discussion. Tactile learners
prefer activities like demonstrations where
they can participate. You want to invest time
in evaluating learning and clarifying difficult
concepts for patients. Presenting information
one time may not be enough. Avoid telling
individuals what they should do. Instead,
present information and ask individuals how
they can incorporate that into their lifestyle.
Provide examples of short-term benefits like
feeling better, having more energy, instead
of focusing on negative effects of not caring
for their condition, and encourage positive
behaviors.
04:18
In summary, lifestyle choices are decisions
and habits that individuals make about how
to live their life. Examples include where
you live, your occupation, religion, drinking,
smoking, diet, physical activities, sports,
use of drugs or alcohol, and wearing a seatbelt.
04:38
It can be difficult to modify behaviors once
established. Many diseases and conditions
can be prevented or delayed by reducing high-risk
behaviors. High-risk behaviors include behaviors
that can lead to illness or injury. Smoking,
high-fat diet, high-calorie diet, lack of
exercise, not wearing a seatbelt, etc.
The role of nurses in all of these is to assess
and identify high-risk behaviors. Effective
teaching strategies are important. Active
listening, variety of learning methods,
avoid judgment and telling patients what to
do, empathetic, and positive re-enforcement
are very important. Effective education is
the key to success. Lifestyle choices that
decrease risk, self-care behaviors that reduce
risks for developing complications from disease
or injury. This is Jessica Spellman. This
has been lifestyle choices, high-risk behaviors,
and self-care.