Practising what we preach: worksite wellness intervention for healthcare staff

Blake, Holly

Abstract

With the rising prevalence of preventable disease, caused by our modern lifestyles, population approaches to health promotion are becoming an essential part of healthcare. Nursing is the largest occupational group within the National Health Service and nurses play a significant role in promoting health for chronic disease prevention and management. Nurses spend a significant proportion of their time engaging patients in health promotion activities such as healthy eating and increased physical activity and encouraging others to make healthy lifestyle choices and sustained behaviour changes. But do they practice what they preach? Demands on our limited healthcare resources are increasing and this profession is physically and mentally challenging leaving individuals susceptible to stress, burnout and poor morale, resulting in chronic disease, reduced efficiency or poor performance and absenteeism. Ironically, the consequence is significant economic burden which puts more pressure on the healthcare services. Maintaining the health of the nursing workforce is becoming as important as healthcare activities for patients, and the NHS as a ‘socially responsible’ employer should take actions in a supportive direction. There is a need for a nationwide drive to initiate change through workplace wellness programmes targeted at healthcare staff.

• Book Type: Book Chapter
• Acceptance Date: Dec 5, 2007
• Publication Date: Sep 10, 2008
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2018
• Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
• Pages: 1-4
• Book Title: Life style and health research progress
• Chapter Number: N/a
• ISBN: 9781604564273
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1152112
• Publisher URL: http://www.novapublishers.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=6998