OT 425 Health Promotion, Health Literacy, and Prevention

The definition of health can mean different things to different people. Health can be the absence of disease or infirmity, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet,  getting enough sleep, or having a social life to some people. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement is a part of the Affordable Care Act, and it has greatly influenced occupational therapy. IHI's Triple Aim pushes occupational therapists to be more involved in community-based practice, primary care, and population health. Education and training has increased in health promotion, health literacy, and prevention in all health care programs. Health promotion for occupational therapy is centered around client-centered use of occupations and alterations of context to maximize the quality of life and the pursuit of health. Prevention can be primary, secondary, or tertiary. Primary prevention is preventing disease or injury before it occurs. Secondary prevention reducing the impact of a disease or injury that has already happened and involves a lot of screening. Tertiary prevention limits the impact of an ongoing disease or injury. Health literacy is aimed at making sure clients fully understand basic health information and have the right information to make decisions. It is important that clients fully understand what is happening because it can help them navigate the healthcare system and be more open to share personal information that could affect their treatment.