Relationships among health promotion behaviors, patient engagement, and the nurse practitioner-patient partnership.

Abstract

Individuals adopting health promotion behaviors benefit from improved health and reduced risk of chronic diseases. Patient engagement and a strong provider-patient partnership may play a role in health promotion. This study examined the relationships between patient engagement, the nurse practitioner-patient partnership and health promotion behaviors among adults in a primary care setting. A descriptive correlational study using convenience sampling to recruit 85 participants from a nurse practitioner primary care practice. Participants completed questionnaires measuring health promotion behaviors (Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II), the quality of the nurse practitioner-patient partnership (Patient Reactions Assessment), and a person's capacity to engage in their health care (Person Engagement Index). Moderate to strong correlations were found among the main study variables. Multiple regression analysis found a person's capacity to engage in health care significantly predicted health promotion behaviors (R2 = 0.362, p < .001) and explained 36.2% of the variance in health promotion behaviors. Patient engagement is a significant predictor of health promotion behaviors. The interactive care model can serve as a framework for nurse practitioners to build partnerships and facilitate patient engagement. Nurse practitioners can serve as a coach, navigator, collaborator, and trusted health care partner with their patients. Nurse practitioners in primary care may need to restructure the health care encounter to allow for adequate time to communicate, listen, educate, and enlist patients in the shared decision-making process. Nurse practitioners can provide the support patients need to engage in their health care as they accept greater responsibility for their health.