Throughout this assignment I intend to come to a comprehensive understanding of the principles of health and well-being. I will define, from a range of resources including primary (surveys carried out) and secondary evidence (websites and books used), what health and well-being can be termed as in both a positive and negative sense. I will assess how health and well-being means different things to different people and how it is relative to the environment, surroundings and personal experiences of a person.
I will come to an in-depth understanding of how two different factors affect health and well-being physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. These will include factors such as attitudes and prejudices, lifestyle choices, social factors, environmental issues, financial and physical factors. I also intend to comprehend and conclude what the apparent differences between medical and social models of health and well-being are. I will do this through the application of a ‘compare and contrast’ technique.
I will, in addition, aim to understand why individuals often fail to conform to health advice. For example, reasons such as peer pressure or lack of knowledge may come into this area. Finally I will describe two ways an individual’s quality of life can be affected by ill health. I will do this through a case study, gaining qualitative data which is essential to coming to a deeper understanding, where an interview of an individual will be important. I will now begin to investigate the differing definitions of ‘health and well-being’. There are both professional and lay definitions of the word.
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Individual Understanding agree with functionalists, specifically the strong Artificial Intelligence (AI) camp, concerning the concept of understanding. While John Searle poses a strong non-functionalist case in his AChinese Room@ argument, I find that his definition of Ato understand@ falls short and hampers his point. I criticize his defense that understanding rests on a standardized knowledge of ...
Research has shown The World Health Organisations professionally defines health as a, ‘state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity… a resource for everyday life, not the object of living. ’ Another professional definition of health can be seen in Mosby’s Medical Dictionary (8th edition).
It defines health as, ‘a condition of physical, mental, and social well-being and the absence of disease or other abnormal condition. It is not a static condition; constant change and adaptation to stress result in homeostasis. ’
Also Rene Dubos, often quoted in nursing education, says, “The states of health or disease are the expressions of the success or failure experienced by the organism in its efforts to respond adaptively to environmental challenges” showing how important being able to adapt to your environment is for health. Finally, another professional definition of the term ‘health’ can be seen from the English Collins dictionary, ‘The overall condition of an organism at a given time. ’ A lay definition of health is by a non-professional and often encompasses beliefs influencing ordinary people and how they view health and illness.
For example, a sixth form student showed a more general viewpoint where beliefs are incorporated by terming health as, ‘not being ill, eating correctly and exercising’ However, it must be considered that much has been researched and written about people’s differing understanding about health and well-being, so there is not only one correct definition. For example, through internet research I have found further explanation, ‘health and well-being can refer to actual physical health, as defined by physical symptomatology and epidemiological rates of physical illness and diseases…
it can also refer to the mental, psychological, or emotional aspect indicated by emotional states and epidemiological rates of mental illnesses and diseases’. (http://wfnetwork. bc. edu/glossary_entry. php? term=Health%20and%20Well%20Being,%20Definition(s)%20of&area=All) This definition means whilst health and well-being can be explained in terms of physical health (studying symptoms and factors, such as the environment, affecting these symptoms in certain populations) of illness or disease, it can also be explained in terms of mental health which includes factors such as emotions investigated in the same way.
The Term Paper on Health Promotions and Disease Prevention Paper
... or cognitive impairment, alcohol abuse and a history of domestic violence are some of the risk factors ... when a person or persons take advantage of an elderly person financially. This includes ... health care professionals. The term “mistreatment” includes physical abuse and neglect, psychological abuse, financial exploitation and violation of rights. Poor health, physical ...
It should also be noted that health has different meanings to different people. To the general public it may just mean being free from illness (which is known as a negative view of health – a positive view would be concentrating on achievement/maintenance of physical fitness/stability and a holistic view would consider the whole person rather than aspects of health separately; it takes into account a combination of factors such as physical, intellectual, emotional and social factors. ) For example, this can be reflected through language regularly used related with moods/feelings.
These include, ‘fighting fit’, ‘in good form’, ‘best of health’, ‘off colour’, ‘out of sorts’ and ‘run down’. However, to health professionals or health experts, such as athletes, it is likely to have a deeper meaning and possibly be of more importance. This could be because, for these types of people, health is about much more than just not being ill; it is about stamina, fitness level, vitamins and minerals consumed and so on. Furthermore, it is useful to consider what are ‘healthy’ standards may vary from person to person depending on their circumstances.
For example, a person who suffers from a condition such as epilepsy may term a ‘good day’ or ‘healthy day’, in this case, to be a day where they have no seizures/fits. However, a person without this condition would expect to have no fits/seizures anyway and so a ‘healthy day’ to them may be a day where they eat five fruits/vegetables and take part in one hour of exercise. Therefore we can see how terming health and well-being is all relative to personal circumstances. ‘Well-being’ refers to how people view themselves and their quality of life.
It tends to be a more broad term than ‘health’ as it goes beyond just a person’s health, referring to happiness, satisfaction and prosperity (how wealth could affect your life standards).
The Essay on Disparities In Health Of Children
... of these factors are bound to have an impact on the health and thus, education of children who ... our country in the area of health care. Healthy People2010, a published report put out by ... of resources provided to those being affected by it and education. Health and Human Services is on ... These factors include a lower sedentary life style, cigarette smoking and less likely to have health insurance ...
When we speak of well-being it is important to consider a number of factors which contribute. These are physical, mental/intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual and also societal factors. Having a positive health and well being is strongly connected to the ability to achieve your full potential; hence it is important to take all of these aspects of life into consideration.
For example, these factors are all interrelated where good health is linked to the quality of life; if you exercise and are physically healthy then you are likely to look healthier so have a higher self-esteem meaning you also are emotionally healthy. If you are emotionally healthy you will be able to form positive relationships and stand up for what you believe in – you are socially and spiritually healthy etc. Evidence of these stated assumptions can be seen through a quick survey carried out.
I questioned various people around my school (from pupils to teachers) on what they thought health and well-being should be defined as. A science teacher defined health as having a, ‘sound mind and sound body. ’ Whereas a PE teacher gave the definition of, ‘a state of mental, social and physical well-being where you have the ability to operate effectively and adapt to any environment without risk of injury – having the correct level of fitness. ’ Also, a pupil defined health as, ‘not being ill and feeling good generally. ’ Finally, an MS sufferer termed health as,
‘waking up with the strength and enough energy to do ordinary things. ’ The purpose of this survey was to see different points of view and to show that factors such as gender, age, profession and personal experience/ability can affect people’s views. I believe this has been proved as I have seen professional definitions to be more positive/holistic and concentrate on a number of different factors. Pupils seem to have a more negative view of health which could be due to limited knowledge. The MS suffer also proved how good health means different things to different people depending on their personal circumstances.
To conclude on the meaning of ‘health and well-being’ I can say that I believe, personally, it could be defined as, ‘having the ability to productively work through life and obstacles which may arise. It is the absence of disease but also the presence of fitness and positive life attitudes. It also refers to social abilities and being able to cope with emotions. Health is feeling happy within your life and yourself; ensuring this is possible through taking positive action such as healthy eating and regular exercise. ’
The Essay on The factors that influence the well being of children and young people
... to get on in life. The well being of a child can be affected by resilience so a ... importance of resilience for children and young people A resilient child is often a child who is strong and ... are made and kept so that their general health is kept up to date and promote a ... children can depend on many things. Having a good positive mental attitude to life is very important and there are many factors ...
Being healthy or unhealthy is unlikely to be as a result of chance; it results from a combination of factors ‘having an effect on a particular individual at any one time. ’ (Ewles and Simnett) I am going to analyse two factors which affect health and well-being, aiming to come to a deep understanding of how this happens. Firstly I will show how lifestyle choices, which encompass diet, exercise, recreation, substance abuse and health practices, affect health and well-being. Nutrition has recently become a high profile health issue as a result of ever increasing obesity contributing to a number of serious health issues.
For example, a National Opinion Poll, which involved over 1000 parents of children aged 4-7, showed that only 14% of those with an obese child considered their child was overweight. The reason for this being we compare children with other children around us, but with 1 in 3 children suffering from obesity, this is a poor measure. Obesity affects physical, intellectual, emotional and social health and well-being. Being overweight can affect you emotionally by affecting your self-image/esteem and impacts physically as you are less mobile.
This may cause you to live a sedentary lifestyle and stay in, therefore socialising less becoming isolated. Also a child may be bullied due to being obese so not attend school and suffer intellectually. Certain people are more at risk of becoming obese. Numerous studies show that low-income children and adults are far more likely to be overweight than those of greater means due to the fact they tend to buy low cost, high fat foods. The statistical distribution seen in various studies fits a neat curve – as income falls, the rate of obesity rises.
The Term Paper on Ecological Systems Theory Child Family Bronfenbrenner
... the child, but it is often a product of society, decided by a judge, enforced by social services.In turn, the divorced family affects ... accompanied by a strong tie to the child that ideally is meant to last a life time. It is important for this attachment ... the healthiest condition we can. In the broadest categories of health maintenance are; nutrition, exercise, and prevention. Good nutrition provides ...
It is also interesting to consider that diet has a major part to play in managing the current trends in cancers. According to the National Cancer Society, obesity accounts for 25%-30% of several major cancers, colon, breast, kidney and oesophagus, which shows that cancer may be more preventable by a change in diet. Exercise is thought to lead to good health and so a longer life. New minimum targets for children and adults were announced by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. Children aged 5-17 should get least 1 hour of moderate/vigorous activity daily, adults need 150 minutes per week.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, healthier lifestyles and a national prevention program could eliminate 25,000 to 40,000 deaths by chronic disease, saving the health care system millions per year. Also, Worldwide Medical Insurance News is that according to Professor June Andrews, director of the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling, exercise, a good diet and socialising will help to hold off the symptoms of dementia “to an extent”. We can therefore see physical activity can increase physical health.
Research has shown it will also improve school performance and so therefore self-confidence. For example, Shepherd (1997) found that reducing academic class time by 240 minutes per week and replacing it with physical activity increased scores on standardized math tests and Sigfusdottir (2007) found that BMI and physical activity were responsible for as much as 24% of the differences in academic achievement. Research has shown recreation on a daily basis reduces risks of diabetes and hypertension, enhances physical and mental health and improves the quality of life.
Studies have displayed that participation in adventure activities have positive effects on life; adventure motivates you, boosts your confidence and enhances self-awareness. Apart from being a way of spending free time, recreation is a way to socialise, it gives you an opportunity to meet new people and develop new friendships. Recreational time can enhance happiness which has shown to be a major influence on health and well-being. For example, Dr Derek Cox, Director of Public Health said, ‘It’s not just that if you’re physically well you’re likely to be happy but actually the opposite way round.
The Research paper on Health Care And Children
Discuss how policies and procedures help children, young people and their families whilst the child is being looked after- identify and explain pros and cons If you wish to meet M1 you must also discuss: • The role of policies and procedures in helping the children and their family whilst the children are being looked after 1. Policies and procedures help to provide good quality provision 2. They ...
If you are happy you are likely in the future to have less in the way of physical illness than those who are unhappy’. Research in the US has suggested a possible link between happiness and long life. A study of nuns in Milwaukee examined the diaries of the sisters of Notre Dame when they joined in the 1930s and counted the number of times they used positive and negative words. After joining the order their lives were almost exactly the same – same food, same work, same routine. Among the less positive nuns, two thirds died before their 85th birthday. Among the happy nuns, 90% were still alive.
On average the happiest nuns lived about nine years longer than the least happy nuns. Substance abuse affects health and well-being in a negative way. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over a long period of time can damage your liver and smoking can cause lung cancer. ‘Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease’, says the World Health Organisation. According to their figures, it is responsible for approximately 5000000 deaths worldwide every year. Tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approximately 25 diseases, and even the WHO says that its impact on world health is not fully assessed.
If you smoke for a lifetime, there is a 50% chance that your eventual death will be smoking-related – half of all these deaths will be in middle age. Evidence also shows people who start smoking in their youth – aged 11 to 15 – are 3 times more likely to die a premature death than someone who takes up smoking at the age of 20. There are also less common substance abuse issues such as misusing paracetemol and dieting pills. For example, Bellwood Health Services in Toronto reports substance abuse is listed as a concurrent problem for 52% of the 225 patients admitted for eating disorders.
Health practices also influence health and well-being. Health practices include factors such as vaccinations you have, whether you practice safe sex and your general cleanliness. For example, at the moment there is a flu epidemic. 5 people in North Carolina, including 2 children, have died in recent weeks of complications from influenza, prompting public health officials to again urge people state-wide to get vaccinated against the virus. Therefore we can see that by having/not having vaccinations against diseases, your health can be affected.
Over the past decade there has been a substantial increase in diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases in the UK, particularly among young people. Young people aged 16-24 years are most at risk of being diagnosed with an STD. Chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease and genital warts is the most common viral STD. It is evident that through such diseases physical health is obviously affected. Emotionally you may suffer as you may feel ‘dirty’, which will reduce happiness levels and therefore you’re well-being suffer also.
The second factor to affect health and well-being which I am going to study is the financial factor. A family’s financial situation is usually closely related to their level of education, which then has a major affect on their health and well-being. For example, if we look at two extreme cases we will be able to see the evident differences. Family A has four members. They live in a big house in a well to do area of the country where there is little air pollution. Both parents work professionally as doctors and have an excellent wage coming into the family.
By only having two children the family have more money than they need and so can afford to have ‘extras’ in life. The children are able to attend a private school as a result and both attain outstanding academic results. The family can afford to pay for gym membership and always purchase organic foods. They go on regular holidays abroad, enhancing the intellectual abilities of the family as a whole. The parents can afford to pay for baby sitters when they want to have a weekend break. The children attend drama schools, music lessons and art classes in their free time. Family B has six members.
The father has a job working as a builder for an average wage. The mother of the family is forced to stay at their council home to look after the children as they cannot afford child care services. The children attend a public school in the council area. The family have never been on holiday together as the extra cost would be too extravagant. They buy their essentials from the cheapest places they can find as they have so many to feed. The children take part in after school clubs every week to give the mother extra time to clean the house, however they do not attend any privately run functions such as music lessons.
The family never find themselves with any extra money than needed and so they live a basic life where only the essentials can be afforded. In these examples we can see both positives and negatives to how finance can affect your health and well-being. Family A is quite likely to have all round better health and well-being for many different reasons. The children attend a private school and so it is assumed that they will receive a better education than those who attend public schools because more time is spent on a one to one basis.
Also they can engage in extra curricular subjects such as Latin, improving their intellectual abilities. They may be taught more on health and know how to look after themselves better than other children, therefore improving their own health and well-being. The family can afford gym membership and organic food and they live in a big un-crowded area with little pollution, which will obviously improve their physical health. They are likely to belong to a private health service and so if any of them were to become ill they could be treated straight away, skipping any waiting lists.
By going on holidays together they are improving social development and are spending much needed quality time as a family, making them happier in general and consequently improving their sense of well-being. Also as the parents get to spend time alone together this ensures their relationship is maintained and so they family will stay a strong unit; this helps relationships and will improve well-being. Finally, because the children attend extra activities such as music lessons they become more rounded individuals with better life prospects.
They will become more confident and their self-esteem increases; this helps emotional development and keeps them healthy in this sense. The whole family can relieve stress through the activities they take part in and so they are more likely to be relaxed and at peace with themselves and their lives, therefore contributing to good health and well-being. Family B has less income and so live in a council house. This may reduce the emotional health of any of the members if they feel less important, that they are unworthy, that they cannot cope without help or if they feel they are living in a dump.
The house may need repairs and so their physical health could be challenged e. g. if there is damp in the house this could cause chest problems. Not going on holidays means the family don’t get to relax or spend quality time together. Stress is thought to have a negative affect on health and well-being and so this could be a factor which should be taken into consideration when seeing how financial situations affect health and well-being. They may constantly feel they are worrying about paying the next bills or affording the next lot of food – they feel on the edge and as though they are always having to fight to survive, not live.
Having little money means they are likely to buy low cost, high fat foods meaning they have a poor diet which affects physical health and even emotional health if they become self-conscious of excess weight put on. For the children, seeing their mother rushed off her feet and wanting them out of the house may make them unhappy and feel unwanted which would have a negative affect on their well-being. However, we should also consider the alternative affects these two extreme environments, due to financial factors, have on health and well-being.
Family A could perhaps produce children who are unaware of what the ‘real world’ is like because they are so secluded by richness. This would negatively affect their health and well-being because they wouldn’t be as able to adapt to a different situation as if they had been shown how some other people, who aren’t as fortunate as themselves, live; health means being able to adapt. However, would the positive education they receive be enough to balance this out and ensure they go on to live good, healthy lives? Family B may produce children who know how to budget and save money.
This will positively affect their health and well-being because their intellectual abilities are improved and they can go on to lead better lives, hopefully, than their parents managed to give them. However, will their lesser education and family quality time mean they go on to lead less positive, unhealthy lives? It must be remembered this is just a stereotypical example and so this may not necessarily be true. These are just assumptions that society seems to make about how financial factors affect health and well-being. Therefore I am now going to go on to assess these assumptions, through research.
On http://stress. about. com/od/financialstress/a/financialstress. htm I found out that roughly 7 in 10 respondents are “very stressed” about money, and only 1 in 10 report that they are not stressed about finances — and the proportion of people stressed about money is only going up. This is pretty significant because financial stress is linked to health problems like depression and sleep problems. With the rising cost of gas and food, the mortgage crisis, and the new bank troubles we’re seeing, many are feeling the crunch of financial stress.
Anxiety over money can negatively affect health in several ways. These are unhealthy coping behaviours where people experiencing financial stress are more likely to numb their anxiety by drinking, smoking, overeating and practicing other unhealthy coping behaviours. This in turn leads to more stress. It also means less money for self-care; with less money in the budget, people who are already under financial stress tend to cut corners in areas like health care to pay for basic necessities like food. Small problems can go unchecked and turn into larger problems. This also leads to more stress.
Additionally is lost sleep; when under financial stress, people often experience trouble sleeping, which can add up to a sleep deficit, impairing immune functioning and cognitive abilities, causing additional moodiness, and more. Finally there are often unhealthy emotions. Credit card debt can cause unhealthy emotions that can take a toll on health. People can experience anxiety, frustration and a sense of hopelessness as the debt piles up and increasing amounts of money are needed just to pay the interest. This causes additional stress, which compounds with the stress from poor coping and self-neglect, to become a menacing amount of stress.
I believe this research highlights how stress can affect health and well-being negatively and so this shows how financial factors can affect a person. On the topic of stress I also found that in fact, money (and the issues surrounding it) is the number one stressor for many people. From this we can conclude financial stress must be taking years off people’s lives and if you’re financially secure, your money-related stress will be lower and you’ll live longer. Therefore if you have the number one stressor under control, it seems like you are better off health-wise.
This information was obtained from http://www. freemoneyfinance. com/2010/03/can-being-financially-secure-add-years-to-your-life. html. Additionally I have found out from http://www. mind. org. uk/help/social_factors/housing_and_mental_health#mentalhealth that good-quality, affordable, safe housing is essential to our well-being. Poor housing or homelessness can contribute to mental ill health or can make an episode of mental distress more difficult to manage. This may also be compounded by the fact that poor housing and homelessness are often linked to other forms of social exclusion, such as poverty.
The housing charity Shelter has found links between overcrowded family housing and depression, anxiety, sleep problems and strained relationships. ‘Decent Homes’ are described by the Government as homes that support the health and well-being of those who live in them. Decent Homes should be warm, weatherproof, equipped with modern facilities and in a good state of repair. The immediate environment of a Decent Home should provide access to clean, safe, green spaces, access to public services and opportunities for social contact.
This shows how having less money and consequently living in a run down house does actually affect your health and well-being. Also, the website http://www. womenconfidentials. com/2010/spending-quality-time-with-you-kids/ led me to find that a child who spends quality time with dad and mum, regardless of their financial abilities, are always well balanced, confident, happy and especially much secured. They end up come out with the best grade and best at everything they do. Why on the other hand, children who don’t have such opportunity of spending time with their parents are mostly 7 out of 10 to be the opposite of secured children.
Therefore this shows how holidays and family time is very important in the health and well-being of the children of the family, particularly. To conclude I think it is fair to say that the assumptions which society has for how financial factors can affect health and well-being are mainly accurate. It seems that family A would indeed be healthier and have a better sense of well-being than family B due to their circumstances, outlining the great importance of financial factors as the basic factor (which is then added to by what finance brings you e.
g. stress, education, quality food) on the health and well-being of an individual. There are many different models of health but the two we have studied are the medical model, also known as the bio-medical model, and the social model. The National Health Service is based upon the medical model of health, yet is edging more to now include the social model also. This is because the social model is more focused on quality of life rather than just treatment of disease/illness and this factor is becoming increasingly important to medical professionals.
The bio-medical model also began to fall out of favour in the twentieth century because of decline in number of deaths due to infectious diseases, dramatic increase in medical technology and its costs and, as stated above, due to growing emphasis on quality of life. People are researching alternative therapy methods in their free time, which come into the Social Model of Health, and therefore this has helped in leading to the onset of the social model being more prominent than before in the NHS today.
I will describe the features of the both models of health including relevant definitions. I am then going to compare and contrast the models and look at the advantages and disadvantages of each. From this I will then be able to come to clear, accurate conclusions as to what I think of each model. As mentioned above, the Bio-medical Model of Health is the leading approach to health in contemporary Western societies. The term is used to describe the approach to health given by the medical profession. Through class discussion I have learned the main features of this model of health.
They include: responsibility for improvement is with the professionals, humans are treated like machines, no consideration given to the prevention of illness, treatments can be painful, suited to acute illness, medication available, possible recovery from life threatening illnesses, illness is cured by medication and surgery, technology helps save lives, funding is available because drug companies want their products used, the concern is with illness rather than good health (making this a negative view on health), illness and disease are thought to be caused by bacteria, virus, injury or genetics without concern given to psychological and emotional factors and also quality of life may not be considered. There are six steps involved in this model of health which sees health as an absence of disease. It is parallel with a machine/car. Step one is where the person feels ill (car will not start), step two the person goes to the doctor (calls garage), step three the person is examined (car examined), step four a diagnosis is made (fault found), step five treatment is offered (part replaced) and finally, step six the person feels better (back on road).
I have also researched this model and found a description, which is as follows,
“The biomedical model of health is used to bring down the number of morbidity and premature mortality. This model is where we look at the parts of the body that might work together… We look at what is wrong and fix that part of the individual. We view the body as a machine… when a part goes wrong it must be fixed. This approach to health is used mostly in the western world. It’s popular because it uses scientific methods, the treatment and care of people is cheaper, expert knowledge is used to achieve the results and public health has been improved. It has one focus; the actual person (biological process), rather then the social and emotional process of the individual. The aim of it is to identify people who are at risk from a disease.
It focuses on the treatment rather then the prevention. ” http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_is_biomedical_model_of_health_care Additionally, I have found a medical definition of the Bio-medical Model of Health from a website, “A conceptual model of illness that excludes psychological and social factors and includes only biologic factors in an attempt to understand a person’s medical illness or disorder. ” http://www. medilexicon. com/medicaldictionary. php? t=55643 . To put it another way, in the bio-medical model attention focuses on physical symptoms, and the emotional side of a service user’s health state is secondary. However this is not the case in psychiatric services and so this
is an exception to the basic characteristics of the Bio-medical Model of Health . This research outlines the features of the model which I previously wrote about. Basically it is a theory which is designed to ensure improvement of physical health, reducing mortality rates, concentrating only on biological factors. Taking this difference into account I researched psychiatric services within the bio-medical health model to see the differences. The information below taught me that emotions must be taken into consideration when dealing with these types of patients because otherwise the physical side of the treatment is not going to be as effective.
“In psychiatric services effective doctor-patient communication is relevant in that the patient needs to understand what is expected of them, so they can comply with instructions, such as adhering to a regimen, taking medication, and so on. There is no standardised model for health provider–user interactions. These vary considerably depending on the familiarity between the parties and the nature of the consultation: for example, an encounter with a familiar general practitioner is different from a single encounter with a radiographer. ” http://openlearn. open. ac. uk/mod/oucontent/view. php? id=398060§ion=1. 1. 6 I will now briefly outline the advantages and disadvantages of the Bio-medical Model of Health. Advantages include the fact that this model allows many people to be treated effectively in situations which often save their lives. The advance of me
