Nursing's role in health promotion. An overview.

This article presents health promotion as a basic concept for nursing practice. Since the era of Nightingale, health promotion has continued to be a major focus for nursing as is reflected in the American Nurses' Association (ANA) Social Policy Statement. The major focus of this article is nursing's role in health promotion in such areas as assessment, advocacy, case management, promotion of self-care, and client education. Major societal changes that are expected to have an impact on health promotion in the near future are also presented.