Nola Pender

Nola J. Pender, PhD,

RN, FAAN earned her
BS in 1964 and her MA
in 1965 from Michigan
State University in East
Lansing, MI. She
received a PhD. from
Northwestern University
of Evanston, IL in 1969.
She was a nurse
educator for over 40
years.
• During her doctoral studies, Pender became
interested in health promotion. She said that
she was influenced by a doctoral advisor
named James Hall, who studied how people's
thoughts shape their motivations and
behaviors. In 1982, Pender published her
Health Promotion Model. She has also written
a textbook, Health Promotion in Nursing
Practice; several editions of the book have
been published. Her publications include eight
textbooks and 50 scholarly writings.
• She married Albert Pender, A businessman
and economics professor. They have two
children.
• During her doctoral studies, Pender
became interested in health promotion.
She said that she was influenced by a
doctoral advisor named James Hall, who
studied how people's thoughts shape their
motivations and behaviors. In 1982, Pender
published her Health Promotion Model
What is health
promotion?
Health promotion can be defined as the
process of empowering people to make
healthy lifestyle choices and motivating them
to become better self-managers. To
accomplish this, health promotion strategies
should focus on patient education,
counseling, and support mechanisms.
Examples of health promotion approaches
include education and counseling programs
that promote physical activity, improve
nutrition, or reduce the use of tobacco,
alcohol, or drugs.
• Dr. Nola Pender developed the Health
Promotion Model (HPM)that is used
universally for research, education, and
practice. The health promotion model focuses
on helping people achieve higher levels of
well-being. It encourages health professionals
to provide positive resources to help patients
achieve behavior specific changes. The goal of
the HPM is not just about helping patients
prevent illness through their behavior, but to
look at ways in which a person can pursue
better health or ideal health.
 Health Promotion Model : Major
Concepts
Health promotion is defined as behavior motivated by the
desire to increase well-being and actualize human health
potential. It is an approach to wellness.

On the other hand, health protection or illness prevention is

described as behavior motivated desire to actively avoid illness,
detect it early, or maintain functioning within the constraints of
illness.

Individual characteristics and experiences (prior related

behavior and personal factors).
Health Promotion Model : Major Concepts

Behavior-specific cognitions and

affect(perceived benefits of action, perceived
barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy,
activity-related affect, interpersonal influences,
and situational influences).

Behavioral outcomes (commitment to a plan of

action, immediate competing demands and
preferences, and health-promoting behavior).
 Metaparadigm

Person Environment

Health Nursing
 Person

Individuals
Families
Communities
Individual factors include

Biologic Sociocultural

Psychological
 Biological Factors
• Age
• Body Mass Index
• Pubertal status
• Menopausal status
• Aerobic capacity
• Strength
• Agility
• Balance
 Sociocultural Factors
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Acculturation
• Education
• Socioeconomic status
 Psychological Factors
• Self esteem
• Self motivation
• Perceived health status
 Environment
• where a person spends most of time (schools,
workplaces)
• Nursing centers
• Occupational health settings
• Community
 Nursing
• Health Promotion Services
• Health Promoting Interventions
• Empowerment for Self Care
• Client’s capacity for Self Care
 Health
• This model promotes the pursuit of health
through out the life span (Pender, 2006 p.
282).

• Subscales: “health responsibility, physical

activity, nutrition, interpersonal relations,
spiritual growth and stress management”
(Tomey, 2010, p. 441).
 Analysis to Evaluation

Simplicity
Pender’s concept of nursing is not that complex.
It is rather simplistic. Health promotion is
directed at increasing the patient’s well-being.
This describes the nature of the person as they
interact with in their environment to pursue
health.
 Generality
• The definitions provided by Pender work in
such a way that they cover all areas or nursing
practices and can be applied in every setting.