Relationships among health promotion behaviors, patient engagement, and the nurse practitioner-patient partnership

Background:Individuals adopting health promotion behaviors benefit from improved health and reduced risk of chronic diseases. Patient engagement and a strong provider-patient partnership may play a role in health promotion. Purpose:This study examined the relationships between patient engagement, the nurse practitioner-patient partnership and health promotion behaviors among adults in a primary care setting. Methodology:A descriptive correlational study using convenience sampling to recruit 85 participants from a nurse practitioner primary care practice. Participants completed questionnaires measuring health promotion behaviors (Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II), the quality of the nurse practitioner-patient partnership (Patient Reactions Assessment), and a person's capacity to engage in their health care (Person Engagement Index). Results:Moderate to strong correlations were found among the main study variables. Multiple regression analysis found a person's capacity to engage in health care significantly predicted health promotion behaviors (R-2 = 0.362, p < .001) and explained 36.2% of the variance in health promotion behaviors. Conclusions:Patient engagement is a significant predictor of health promotion behaviors. The interactive care model can serve as a framework for nurse practitioners to build partnerships and facilitate patient engagement. Nurse practitioners can serve as a coach, navigator, collaborator, and trusted health care partner with their patients.