Running head: PARTNER HEALTH PROMOTION 1

Partner Health Promotion

Jack Arnold
Ferris State University




PARTNER HEALTH PROMOTION 2

Abstract
Wellness diagnoses are used to demonstrate an individuals readiness for change. First an area of
change needs to be identified. This area is determined through an assessment. Assessments can
be done in a variety of ways, verbal, physical or lab testing. Our method was an online quiz to
identify areas in need of change. After the results are discussed the next step is to determine one
or two wellness diagnoses. These diagnoses are areas in the individuals life that they view as
areas they are ready to effect change. These steps walk along the Transtheoretical Model of
Behavior process. Planning is an important step along this process. The individual develops a
plan of change that is simple, easy to implement, and attainable. Once a plan is in place, it is
implemented over a set period of time and evaluated. Evaluation measures the progress of the
plan with possible adjustments for any areas that did not work. This process is done with hopes
to instill permanent change for the individual.

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Partner Health Promotion
Assessment
After taking the real age self-assessment quiz, my partner discovered her real age to be
19.2, which is actually only three years less than her real age. The positive aspects of the quiz
were weight, positive attitude, a partially nutritious diet, avoiding the sun, expressing love and
interest in animals and others, and being a non-smoker. Some of the negative areas she needs to
work on are diet (red meat and junk food), eat more of a variety of vegetables, find ways to deal
with stress and financial issues, keep an eye on her low blood pressure, and stick with a sleep
schedule. There were a couple areas I identified as being neutral rather than positive or negative.
Those areas were to have her cholesterol tested, get hooked on fish, and to create a workout that
works for you. After reviewing the assessment I noticed some categories that revolved around
diet, exercise, social, sleep and stress. These are all important issues that make up ones
environment and wellness and are a good start in defining a persons wellbeing.
A couple categories to include in the quiz might be marital/relationship status,
spiritual/religious beliefs, and financial/economic status. These areas have a tendency to affect a
persons diet, sleep and overall mental and physical health status.
Wellness Diagnosis
After reviewing all the areas of the real-age quiz, and talking with my partner about the
areas that were pointed out in the quiz, I was able to determine two wellness diagnoses for her.
The first is readiness for enhanced sleep. This individual has a stated erratic sleep pattern and
behavior with varying times to bed and awake. Several factors of environment also disrupt the
ability for a routine sleep pattern. Temperature, environmental noise, location of bed/bedroom,
and cats in the room are all playing a role in the disruptions as well as delayed times of falling
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asleep and back to sleep. According to a study by Marhefka, (2011) sleep deprivation effects
memory, computational speed, reduced cognitive achievement, and impaired performance on
verbal creativity and abstract thinking. The study also concluded that lack of or poor sleep
affects behavior and leads to cognitive difficulties, thereby reducing academic achievement and
learning. This is the area that we decided to focus on.
The second diagnosis I determined was readiness for health seeking behaviors related to
diet and exercise. The individual has expressed that a consistent eating pattern is hard to achieve
with her busy work and school schedule. The eating pattern is only one part of the diet equation.
The choices made when she does eat play a big role in her overall health. Quick easy
microwavable items and fast foods tend to be the main staples in the diet. Also finding time to
stay fit and relieve stress by exercising is just another tough task to manage. She does belong to
a gym that is open 24 hours but finds time is a hard thing to come by.
Planning
After reviewing the sleep wellness diagnoses with my partner, we worked together to
devise a plan that could be easy to implement and achieve. First, I had her keep a journal for a
week of her sleep habits. When she went to bed, woke, how many times awoke during the night,
and when she did wake during the night what was the reason.
After reviewing the journal, I noticed a sleep pattern emerge. The sleep pattern involved
waking during the night due to environmental noise and temperature (cold) and also disturbances
from the household cats. Another factor to her waking involved a busy head. Stress related
waking due to school, financial, and social demands. Her sleep log showed an average of three
times of waking during the night and an average of six hours a night of total sleep time. These
are averages based on when she last looked at her clock or phone. Since it was not an option to
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alter the cats behavior or lock them out of the area, we focused on changing the environment
and using sleep techniques. First, we agreed on the use of an electric blanket and second we
decided on the use of a noise machine which mimics the ocean, forest, white noise, insects, and
so forth. Also I suggested she try word or phrase repetition as a form of relaxation to relieve
stress and help her fall asleep faster. If she found herself thinking of school or work, she should
refer back to the phrase. This method has been proven to reduce heart rate, blood pressure,
decrease breathing rates and increase alpha brain waves. (Maville & Huerta, 2013, p. 239)
Transtheoretical Model
The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior encompasses five stages of change. Stage one is
precontemplation, stage two is contemplation, stage three is preparation, stage four is action, and
stage 5 is maintenance. (Maville & Huerta, 2013, p. 45) When my partner began the real-age
self-assessment quiz, she began her journey up the steps of this model. Taking the quiz and
reading the results started her in the precontemplation stage. It made her think about the
answers she gave in the quiz that resulted in the recommendations given by the quiz. Since I
know my partner well, we discussed the results. I questioned her on what areas of her lifestyle
she thought could use change while using the quiz as a guide. This jumped her up to the
contemplation stage because I made her think about what changes she wanted to make. We then
discussed the changes she thought could be most useful in her life and easy to achieve. With
some minor change in habits we formed a plan that could be easy to implement and achieve. By
forming this plan she advanced to the preparation stage. Preparation included the plan, obtaining
a noise machine and electric blanket. Once the plan was in place, it was implemented and we
tracked her progress for the following week. With action being taken on our plan collaboration,
my partner advanced to stage four which is action. The last stage, maintenance, involves
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processing the effects of the change, with possible modifications, and long term continuation of
the plan. The time frame for the first four stages evolved over a week. Since our objective was
of a simpler nature, the time frame seems appropriate. Depending on the goal one hopes to
achieve, the stages may take weeks to months to move through.
Evaluation
After implementing the plan of the electric blanket, noise machine, and repetitive
phrase/word I spoke with my partner again to discuss how she felt the changes were working.
She made comment of feeling a little more rested in the morning with fewer episodes of waking
during the night and also stated she noticed a shorter response time falling asleep when using the
word/phrase repetition technique. This technique also helped when she awoke during the night
with a busy head. She referred back to the phrase and found she was able to fall back asleep
faster. According to her journal she kept, her continued bed times ranged between 10-12pm, she
noticed an average sleep time of 7.5 hours, and an average time to fall sleep was estimated
between 10-15 minutes. This again was based on when she went to bed and the last time she
looked at her clock or cell phone. The number of times awakening during the night was down to
1, but approximated time to fall back asleep was estimated to be 20 minutes, again estimated by
last time she looked at the clock or her cell phone. This shortened time she said was attributed to
the word or phrase repetition method for relaxing and clearing her busy head. She also
commented on staying warm throughout the night and the use of the noise machine helped to
drowned out environmental noises. The night awakenings were still primarily attributed to the
household cats.
At this point we did not see or feel any changes in the plan were warranted since
noticeable change was achieved. She did inform me that she had recently accepted a third-shift
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work position which will dramatically affect her sleep pattern and schedule, so we talked about
the coming change and set-up a new set of guidelines for when this happens. On the nights she
was going to work, when she returned home, she would sleep in an upstairs bedroom to help
alleviate environmental noise and reduce interruptions from the household animals and other
family members. We also chose to continue the use of the noise machine and electric blanket if
necessary. Another change to implement was the use of a sleeping mask to reduce outside light
and placing darkening curtains or blinds in the room she was going to use. These changes we felt
would help her to achieve a relaxing dark environment for optimal quality sleep. Further
evaluation can be done once this change has taken place and the new plan has had a chance to be
implemented.

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References
Marhefka, J. K. (2011, September). Sleep Deprivation: Consequences for Students. Journal of
Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 49(9), 20-25.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3928/02793695-2011

Maville, J. A., & Huerta, C. G. (2013). Health Promotion in Nursing (third ed.). Clifton Park,
NY: Delmar.

Sleep Quality Quiz, http://www.youbeauty.com/quizzes/sleep-quality

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Appendix
Pre-plan sleep log: bed times between 10-12pm, average approximated time to fall asleep
30 minutes, this was based on looking at clock or cell phone, average number of times waking
during the night 3, length of time awake during the night when awoke, 30-45 minutes, this was
also based on looking at clock or cell phone, and average amount of sleep time per night 6.5
hours depending on school and work schedule.
Post-plan sleep log: bed times between 10-12pm, average approximated time to fall
asleep 15 minutes, average number of times awakened during the night 1, length of time awake
during the night when awoke 15 minutes, average hours of sleep during the night 7.5.
Your Sleep Quality Quiz Results Your sleep quality has room for improvement.
You scored 10 out of 21
You're lacking a little in the sleep department, and there are areas of your health and beauty that
you may not realize are being negatively affected as a result. But don't stress! We can help you
solve your shut-eye issues. Follow your personalized action steps, then come back and take the
quiz again to see the positive effects of better sleep.
SUBJECTIVE SLEEP QUALITY
What it is: How you rate your sleep. This can help: Determine whats keeping you up (racing
thoughts, kids, headaches) and commit to working it out.
SLEEP LATENCY
What it is: How long it takes you to fall asleep. This can help: Give your brain a break right
before bed. For instance, scrambling to finish emails in bed or frantically going over the next
day's presentation right before you sleep sets you up for failure.
SLEEP DURATION
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What it is: How many hours of sleep you get at night. This can help: If youre getting too little
sleep (less than 6.5 hours) because of a hectic schedule, try penciling your bedtime into your
daily calendar, and then treating it as a priority. If youre getting more than 8.5, that can be bad,
too.
HABITUAL SLEEP EFFICIENCY
What it is: Your pattern of going to bed and waking up in the morning. This can help: Stick to a
sleep schedule (go to sleep and wake up at the same times every day)your body will get its
most efficient, beautifying sleep that way.
SLEEP DISTURBANCES
What it is: The things that disturb you while youre sleeping. This can help: Dont underestimate
stuff that wakes you up even once during the night. Figure out whats bothering you (dogs,
snoring, room temperature) and take care of it.
USE OF SLEEP MEDICATION
What it is: Prescribed and over-the-counter medication use. Nothing wrong here!
DAYTIME DYSFUNCTION
What it is: How your sleep is affecting your daytime activities. This can help: Daytime
sleepiness can be downright dangerous if youre driving a car! If at all possible, take a 30-minute
nap around 3 p.m. It will recharge your brain and refresh you for the rest of the day.
The diet pattern that emerged involved evening meals. There was no consistency to her
evening diet and time, ranging from frozen pizza and bag noodles to Jimmy Johns and other
various fast foods and from times of 5pm to 9pm. Dietary calcium intake is crucial for young
woman since it can lead to bone mineral loss and the weakening of bones in later life (Maville
& Huerta, 2013, p. 238). For her evening meal plan we came to the decision to join the family
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for dinner when possible and also to invest in single serving chicken/steak as well as small
quantities of fresh vegetables that can be either steamed or mixed for salad. Since she already
eats Greek yogurt on a regular basis which is a good source of calcium, the fresh vegetables with
meals will help enhance her intake. These meals she could take to work with her for
lunch/dinner times. She then kept track on her app so she could personally view the results.


















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Assessment and Diagnosis
Rubric
Total Possible Points =200 Points Earned
Assessment 60
Real age test completed,
results interpreted and
discussed in paper;
summarize both positive and
negative

Area of risk focus discussed in
depth

One Wellness diagnosis for
area of focus; supported by
data and research ; EBP


Planning and Intervention
Rubric
60 Points Earned
One SMART obtainable goals
should be able to measure
progress

Interventions based on EBP ~
includes one peer reviewed
journal article as a reference
for at the minimum two
interventions

Includes information re: TTM
and readiness for change


Evaluation and Reflection 50 Points Earned
Evaluate partners progress
toward SMART goals.

Reflect on any changes that
are necessary in order for
partner to reach goals;
include references/support
for these changes

APA 30
APA format and references
cited properly; scholarly

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writing; spelling and grammar
accurate;
Total Points Earned: