Prevention, Wellness and Health Promotion in Neurologic Physical Therapy

In recent years, health care practitioners have begun to recognize the need to transition our health care system from one that focuses on sick care (i.e., waiting for individuals to become ill and then promote recovery) to one that focuses on prevention and wellness. In addition to leading to a dramatic reduction in health care costs, this more contemporary approach could prove to be significantly more effective for reducing rates of mortality and disease morbidity. This is true for all patient/client populations including those with neurologic dysfunction. The mobility limitations and other barriers to healthy lifestyle practices faced by these individuals require thoughtful and creative solutions for success. Physical therapy (PT) practitioners are uniquely positioned to incorporate prevention, wellness and health promotion into their professional practice because of their educational background and expertise, the frequency and duration of the visits they have with their patients/clients, and the trusting relationship they typically form with their patients/clients. This course addresses the PT practitioner’s role in promoting prevention, wellness and health promotion by: 1) describing professional practices and competencies involved in this type of health care delivery; 2) examining health behavior and strategies to promote health behavior change as needed; 3) exploring delivery possibilities for promoting health in community settings; and 4) identifying useful resources for learning more on this topic. An emphasis will be placed on applying these concepts to patients/clients with neurologic dysfunction.