The importance of family nurses' participation in the local program of cardiological prevention in Wroclaw

In Poland, cardiac prevention programs minimize the nurse's role in health education related the patient's lifestyle change. Following the experience of Swedish primary health care, the Health Department of the City Hall in Wrocław was the first local government to launch a long-term, ten-year preventive cardiology program in 1998. Aim of the study To present the participation of family nurses in the implementation of population intervention program in cardiological prevention among the inhabitants of Wrocław. Material and method The general practitioners from Wrocław and a group of 100 family nurses participated in the preventative program. The overall goal of the program was to assess risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Each patient was provided with education by the nurse. To conduct the nursing visit, a procedure was used that took into account the structure criteria and the a unified procedure criteria. The nurses analyzed the norms of laboratory test results, blood pressure, heart rate, weight, height, fiber and fat intake, and calculated BMI and WHR. The nurses used a health profile. If a patient was considered a person from a higher risk group, they provided referred the patient to a general practitioner. Conclusions In local prevention program, residents were motivated to modify health behaviors through nursing diagnosis and assessment. The close place of residence and direct contact with the patient made it possible to provide health education focused on first-degree prevention. However, patient health education requires organization, time and communication skills, which is why it is so important to prepare staff to implement preventive programs and finance them from local funds. The new role of a health educator becomes an opportunity to change the perception of the traditional role of nursing.