Is integration of healthy lifestyle promotion into primary care feasible? Discussion and consensus sessions between clinicians and researchers

Abstract

Background: The adoption of a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, a healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption and abstinence from smoking, is associated with a major decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases and mortality. Primary healthcare (PHC) services therefore attempt, with rather limited success, to promote such lifestyles in their patients. The objective of the present study is to ascertain the perceptions of clinicians and researchers within the Basque Health System of the factors that hinder or facilitate the integration of healthy lifestyle promotion in routine PHC setting.

Avaliação da qualidade do cuidado a idosos nos serviços da rede pública de atenção primária à saúde de Porto Alegre, Brasil

“…Ultimamente, tem-se dado maior importância às atividades preventivas e de promoção da saúde, na busca de formas mais efetivas e menos dispendiosas de cuidado e, por consequência, de avaliações de custo e de resultados. Estudos recentes demonstram que a adoção de um estilo de vida saudável pode prevenir 60% da mortalidade prematura e acrescentar 14 anos à expectativa de vida 13 . Apesar da evidência forte da efetividade das práticas preventivas, o seu uso permanece ainda muito baixo; nos EUA, por exemplo, somente 28% dos fumantes recebem orientações ou tratamento para cessação do tabagismo 14 .…”

Health care professionals’ perceptions of health promotion with preschool children

“…This is in line with WHO's definition of empowerment: "In health promotion, empowerment is a process through which people gain greater control over decisions and actions affecting their health." [35] Similar ideas are espoused by Grandes et al [36] They suggest that health promotion work should be extended to arenas such as schools, leisure time activities, sports and a variety of health care settings and town halls.…”

“…The situation of having knowledge about health promotion and understanding the value of it, but not being able to practice it, has been seen in other studies both from Europe [15] and South Africa. [20,36] Grandes et al [36] recommend intersectional work, using a socio-ecological approach, and they believe that the health care staff is well suited to lead this work. They stress that there is also a need for re-orientation in the health-care service towards prevention of illness and promotion of health.…”

“…Grandes et al [36] describe that health promotion should be integrated in health care, especially in PHC. However, they stress that the most useful models to work with health promotion (the Health Belief Theory, Theory of Planned Action, the Social Learning Theory, "stages of change" and integrative models) must be redesigned and adjusted to the context in which they are going to be used.…”

Atenção primária à saúde: diretrizes, desafios e recomendações. Revisão de bibliografia internacional

“…o tema "estilo de vida saudável", trabalhado por Grandes et al (2008), inclui promoção de dieta balanceada, exercício físico, etc. os profissionais pesquisados consideraram possível e necessário integrar atividades de promoção de estilo de vida saudável à aPs, mas mostraram acreditar que ajudar as pessoas a mudar seu estilo de vida é difícil; que modelos de intervenções eficazes estão disponíveis, mas que eles não se encaixam no funcionamento atual da aPs (centrada na "cura de doenças") e que faltam intervenções para tratar combinações de risco.…”