Evaluation of Professional Readiness of Health Care Providers to Prevention-Oriented Activities

Abstract

In the first one and a half decades of the 21st century, there is observed an intensive development of the medical prevention in health care facilities. New preventive treatment facilities and subdivisions were created and a new feature - preventive counseling was imputed to a wide range of doctors. This work included the evaluation of the preventive activity, lifestyle and health state of 221 health care providers, analysis of results of the preventive check-up of 154 nurses and analysis of the workplace assessment of 200 health workers. The results of the work showed just doctors to perform most of the preventive health care for patients. Only half of the surveyed physicians and one third of nurses noted that they gained knowledge about medical prevention in the process of training in a medical school. Most health care providers stated that they keep a healthy lifestyle. At once, a quarter of surveyed nurses answered that they smoke and more often do it at work. It should be noted that there was much less smokers among doctors. Nurses and doctors justified the cause of smoking by to the necessity to relieve work-related stress. A large part of health care providers noted a lack of physical activity, poor diet and insufficient sleep. An objective assessment of working conditions based on the analysis of workplaces assessment showed the increased work intensity and low lighting at the workplace of health care providers. Based on the findings it can be concluded health care providers to be motivated to perform work on preventive medicine. However, the training of physicians and nurses in the field of health lifestyle promotion and disease prevention requires the improvement. The personal commitment of health workers to the disease prevention for their own health preserving cannot be considered to be sufficient. A comprehensive approach to the training of health professionals and the organization of their work will allow to enhance of the professional activity health of care providers in the field of the disease prevention and improving their health.