Question

Difficulty: MediumHealth Promotion and Disease Prevention

A public health nurse is designing a comprehensive cardiovascular health program for a rural community. The nurse's specific objective for the upcoming quarter is to implement secondary disease prevention measures. Which of the following actions should the nurse include to meet this objective?

  1. Conducting mobile screening events to check blood pressure and lipid profiles in asymptomatic residents.Answer
  2. B
    Distributing educational materials on the importance of regular aerobic exercise and a low-sodium diet.
  3. C
    Creating a structured cardiac rehabilitation support protocol for residents recovering from recent myocardial infarctions.
  4. D
    Delegating the interpretation of community cholesterol screening results to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP).

Answer

Conducting mobile screening events to check blood pressure and lipid profiles in asymptomatic residents.
Secondary prevention focuses on early detection, screening, and prompt intervention for diseases in their earliest stages, often before symptoms appear. Conducting blood pressure and lipid screenings for asymptomatic residents directly aligns with this goal by identifying individuals who may have undetected cardiovascular issues.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the question to determine the required level of prevention.
The scenario specifically asks for 'secondary disease prevention measures'.
Identifying the target prevention level is necessary to select the correct intervention.
2
Evaluate each option against the definitions of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, as well as safe nursing practice.
Screening asymptomatic individuals is secondary prevention. Education is primary. Rehabilitation is tertiary. Delegating interpretation of results is an unsafe practice.
Systematically categorizing each intervention ensures the correct level is selected and unsafe actions are eliminated.

Key Concept

Levels of Disease Prevention
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