Health Promotion and Hydration: A Systematic Review About Hydration Care

AIM: Hydration and well-being are highly correlated. However, practice tells us that the significance of hydration is often unrecognized and is not treated as a priority. This review focuses on how health education can improve hydration levels among the adult population.

METHOD: The research question of the study is “Can health promotion improve hydration among adults?” A total of 934 papers were screened using search engines such as CINAHL, COCHRANE, PUBMED, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. Seventy-two articles were assessed for eligibility and 41 of them were selected for quality appraisal using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) Systematic Review Checklist, which left the study with 16 articles to be fully reviewed and included in the study.

RESULTS: The findings of the study show that water intervention programs help low-drinker participants to sustainably increase their water intake and maintain their habits through time. There was a sustainable impact on decreasing the number of falls, delirium, and the patient’s dependence, with an improvement in their overall condition.

CONCLUSION: Dehydration is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and is an easily preventable condition, but is often overlooked. Public awareness and hydration education is needed to promote healthy habits, a subject in which nurses play a role of paramount importance.

Cite this article as: Garcia-Garcia, D. (2022). Health promotion and hydration: A systematic review about hydration care. Florence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 30(3), 310-321.