Health promotion and disease prevention: tasks and roles defined by front-line professionals

A skills profile for frontline professionals

Due to its accessibility, continuity of care and widespread patient base within the population, primary care is ideal for offering preventive and health promotion interventions.

And still, primary care professionals and institutions face obstacles in implementing such activities while patients sometimes face resistance to their participation.

A lot of international research has already been done, but not yet in a Flemish context.
Developing a competence profile for the front-line professional has already been studied, but the research did not start from real practice.

Because mainly stakeholders from the prevention landscape brought their input and not healthcare providers from the healthcare sector. In addition, she previously provided a generic competence profile for a new health promoter profile. But thus not the primary care professional's interpretation of the role of health promoter.

And that is precisely what the field is waking up to. This also came out of conversations with our stakeholders from the Academic Workplace for the First Line (AWEL).

Sources: Starfield, Shi, Macinko 2015; WHO, 2008 - CANMEDS - Rubio-Valera et al, 2014 -Peral, et al, 2015 - Geens et al., 2013; Kemppainen et al., 2013; Pumar-Mendez et al., 2029; Van Heteren et al., 2024; Whitehead, D., 2006.

The aim of the project

This study aims to create a common understanding of disease prevention and health promotion to clarify the minimum and maximum roles, underlying competencies and tasks for front-line professionals. These are occupational therapists, nurses, healthcare professionals, midwives, podiatrists, audiologists and dental hygienists. 

We want to start from these frontline professionals.

• Define and elaborate the role of frontline frontline professionals in disease prevention and health promotion in a (generic) competence profile and where necessary differentiate by professional group.
• Identify levers and barriers in the implementation and implementation of disease prevention and health promotion competences and tasks by frontline (para)medical frontline professionals.
• Raise awareness among frontline professionals and organisations, policy and training about the opportunities to engage in disease prevention and health promotion (e.g. list possible leads).
   

Research method

We follow a mixed-methods methodology:

1. We organise non-participatory observations of frontline frontline professionals. By following along on the shop floor, we examine which opportunities for intervention, possible actions for health promotion and disease prevention were consciously and unconsciously conducted or missed.
2. The observation(s) are followed by a semi-structured interview (1h) to clarify the interpretation of the observations, the definition of health promotion and disease prevention.
3. Starting from the ecosystem of the observed frontline frontline professional, we compose a focus group. This consists of key stakeholders inside and outside the organisation working in the role and who may complicate or facilitate tasks in health promotion and disease prevention. For example, a team leader or direct supervisor. This focus group (1.5h) takes place at a location indicated by the frontline primary care provider or at a campus of Artevelde University of Applied Sciences.

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