Prevention in the inpatient setting

To review the literature on and describe approaches to implementing health promotion and disease prevention practices in the inpatient setting.

Comprehensive review of nursing and medical literature, clinical practice guidelines, and U.S. government documents.

Preventive screening has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality from many diseases. Health promotion and disease prevention activities form the foundation of practice for many nurse practitioners (NPs). As increasing numbers of NPs begin to practice in the acute care setting, it is important they incorporate prevention into the inpatient setting.

Because there are many barriers that impact appropriate preventive screening, health care providers must take advantage of every patient encounter including those in the inpatient setting. Although it may not be feasible to actually perform certain screening exams while a patient is hospitalized, it is feasible in many cases to take a few minutes to review recommended preventive screening.