High Risk Factors, Lifestyle Choice and Self-Care (Nursing)

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.