A culture of health promotion in healthcare: Can't pour from an empty cup

Abstract

With chronic diseases increasingly prevalent in the United States (U.S.), healthcare providers are in a unique position to promote healthy living behaviors, such as physical activity (PA) and nutrition, to patients. However, many healthcare providers struggle with maintaining their own health, which negatively affects their ability to counsel patients effectively on these behaviors. This paper highlights the barriers healthcare providers face in adopting and promoting healthy behaviors, including individual habits, lack of training, and environmental factors within healthcare institutions. It also examines how these barriers, such as insufficient educational opportunities, inadequate work environments, and systemic obstacles like time constraints and reimbursement issues, hinder effective PA and nutritional counseling. The authors propose that improving the health of healthcare providers will enhance the quality of counseling they provide, ultimately benefiting patient care and population health.