++
This chapter was designed with the primary care health provider in mind. However, in certain situations most health care providers and nurses may find this chapter useful. In caring for patients, we find that unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are becoming increasingly important as a preventable cause of disease and disability and should be addressed on a regular basis.
++
Under the nutrition section, you will find not only questions on nutrition behaviors, but patient teaching on various commonly prescribed diets as well (low sodium, low fat, diabetic, etc.). Often, as a consequence of language barriers, patients come away from an encounter with their health care provider with an incomplete understanding of what foods are appropriate for their particular medical condition.
++
Exercise is also an often neglected topic, for any population. But even just a small increase in exercise can have major impacts on health and disease. Again, in this section, you will find questions on exercise behaviors as well as patient teaching on exercise prescriptions.
++
Prevention covers the questions on health promotion and disease prevention. This section also covers basic screening tests for the general population, as well as gender-specific screening questions.
++