Health Promotion in Adults

Behaviors have a major influence on a person’s health. For instance, alcohol use,
smoking, poor eating habits, and lack of exercise are associated with poor health outcomes.
Health promotion seeks to encourage one to live a healthy lifestyle so that they can be less
susceptible to various illnesses and improve the quality of their lives (Fertman &
Allensworth, 2016). Even though health promotion targets everyone regardless of their age,
there are differences and similarities between health promotion among older and younger
adults.

Differences in health promotion between older and younger adults

There are significant differences between health promotion among older adults and
younger adults. Generally, the bodies of older adults are less perfect that those of younger
adults. For instance, the older one gets the more they are likely to suffer from chronic
conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension (Golinowska et al., 2016). The less than perfect
bodies of older adults places limitations on their daily activities and health. Due to these
limitations, health promotion programs for older adults are usually more individualized and
require more involvement from a healthcare professional (Golinowska et al., 2016).
Additionally, given their shorter remaining life expectancy, older adults prefer health
promotion activities that yield more immediate results than the health promotion activities
preferred by younger adults.

Similarities in health promotion between older and younger adults

Health promotion programs among older and younger adults are not entirely different;
they share some similarities. One of the similarities is their aims. Regardless of age, health

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promotion is meant to improve the health and functional capacity of an individual
(Golinowska et al., 2016). Another similarity is that all health promotion programs seek to
change an individual’s behavior so that they adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Reducing non-compliance among older adults

Health promotion compliance is the extent to which a person’s behavior complies
with health promotion program’s recommendations. Lack of compliance to the
recommendations of a health promotion program is likely to prevent the program from
achieving its objectives. In order to increase compliance among older adults, there are various
incentives that can be used for older adults. One of them is reducing copayments of premiums
for adults on Medicare (Wood & Neal, 2016). Additionally, those who comply can benefit
from expanded insurance benefits, such as including dental care in their insurance (Wood &
Neal, 2016). Such kind of incentives are likely to increase the level of compliance among
older adults.

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References

Fertman, C. I., & Allensworth, D. D. (2016). Health promotion programs: from theory to
practice. John Wiley & Sons.

Golinowska, S., Groot, W., Baji, P., & Pavlova, M. (2016). Health promotion targeting older
people. BMC Health Services Research

Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2016). Healthy through habit: Interventions for initiating &
maintaining health behavior change. Behavioral Science & Policy, 2(1), 71-83.