Question

Difficulty: HardHealth Promotion and Disease Prevention

A home health nurse is developing a comprehensive care plan for a 72-year-old client who is recovering from a recent ischemic stroke. The nurse incorporates interventions representing various levels of disease prevention. Which of the following planned nursing actions specifically demonstrates a secondary prevention strategy?

  1. A
    Collaborating with physical therapy to implement customized gait training and restore the client's baseline mobility.
  2. B
    Arranging for the administration of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to protect against respiratory infections.
  3. Administering a standardized screening tool to detect early manifestations of post-stroke depression.Answer
  4. D
    Referring the client to a specialized community support group for stroke survivors to enhance psychosocial adaptation.

Answer

Administering a standardized screening tool to detect early manifestations of post-stroke depression.
Secondary prevention encompasses screening and early detection measures designed to identify diseases or complications in their earliest stages, often before symptoms are fully apparent. In this scenario, although the client has an established diagnosis of a stroke (which requires tertiary management), administering a depression screening tool aims to detect a new, common complication (post-stroke depression) early on. This explicitly aligns with the definition of secondary prevention.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the client's clinical scenario.
The client is a 72-year-old recovering from an ischemic stroke, indicating the presence of an established, chronic health condition.
Understanding the client's baseline health status is necessary to appropriately categorize the planned prevention strategies.
2
Define the levels of disease prevention.
Primary prevention stops disease before it starts. Secondary prevention focuses on early detection (screening) of a new problem. Tertiary prevention rehabilitates and manages existing conditions to prevent complications.
A clear conceptual understanding of the definitions is required to evaluate each nursing action.
3
Evaluate each option against the definitions of prevention levels.
Vaccination is primary. Gait training and support groups are tertiary (rehabilitation and adaptation). Depression screening is secondary.
This systematic process eliminates incorrect options by accurately categorizing them based on epidemiological frameworks.

Key Concept

Levels of Disease Prevention (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary)
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