Concepts of Health and Wellbeing

Concepts of health and wellbeing

• Health and wellbeing encompasses physical, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions.

Overview

• Key concepts include health and wellbeing, illness, and the dynamic and subjective nature of these concepts.
• Optimal health and wellbeing benefits individuals, nations, and the world.

Core terminology

• Terms include chronic condition, communicable diseases, dimensions of health/wellbeing, disease, dynamic, emotional/social/spiritual/mental/physical health and wellbeing, equilibrium, health and wellbeing, illness infirmity, and subjective.

Concepts of health and wellbeing and illness

• Knowledge of health and wellbeing, illness, and their dynamic and subjective nature is key.
• Understanding the concepts of health and wellbeing and illness are critical to awareness of the quality of life in Australia and for assessing the likely effects of any new health strategies and actions.
• Health and wellbeing, often considered together now, refers to the state of a person's physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual existence, in which they feel happy, healthy, capable and engaged.
• Equilibrium is a state of balance and/or calmness
• Disease is a physical or mental disturbance symptoms, dysfunction or tissue damage
• Infirmity describes the quality or state of being weak or ill, which is often associated with old age.

The World Health Organization (WHO)

• The WHO emerged was established in 1948 as a branch of the United Nations.
• The WHO promotes health and wellbeing globally
• In 1946, the World Health Organization's (WHO) constitution defined health positively: a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
• In the past, good health only meant the absence of disease.
• The modern view of health included the physical dimension. A revised modern definition states that in order to reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment.

Dynamic nature of health

• Health and wellbeing is dynamic, that is, constantly changing.
• Changes in weight, relationships, self-esteem, and purpose affect wellbeing.
• Events such as accidents, disease, breakups, and stress can rapidly alter health quickly.
• Improvements in health can also be quick

Subjective nature of health

• Health and wellbeing is subjective; it's viewed differently due to factors like age, fitness, weight, social networks, income, occupation, education, media, and culture.
• An elderly person may view health as the ability to act independently.
• A person with a chronic disease might define health by the management of their illness.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' perspectives

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples correlate optimal health and wellbeing to having a strong connection to Country and their cultures and histories.
• The health of the land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain that connection to ensure a deep and thorough understanding is passed down to future generations.
• Each community has its own territory, defined by geographic boundaries.
• Kinship influences include marriage decisions and everyday behaviour.

Illness

• Illness relates to negative health and wellbeing.
• Disease is a physical or mental disturbance with symptoms, dysfunction, or tissue damage.
• ‘a disease is a physical or mental disturbance involving symptoms, dysfunction or tissue damage, while illness is a more subjective concept related to personal experience of a disease'
• Illness is dynamic, meaning it is constantly changing
• Illness is subjective, meaning different people may experience diseases and injuries in different ways
• Factors such as age, past experiences, pain threshold and the level of social support can influence an individual's level of illness

Dimensions of health and wellbeing

• Dimensions include physical, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects

Physical health and wellbeing

• Relates to the functioning of the body and includes the physical capacity to perform daily activities or tasks.

Social health and wellbeing

• It relates to the state and quality of the interactions and relationships that an individual has with their family, friends and others

Emotional health and wellbeing

• It relates to the ability to express feelings in an appropriate way. The positive management and expression of emotional actions and reactions as well as the ability to display resilience

Mental health and wellbeing

• It relates to the state of a person's mind or brain and the ability to think and process information

Spiritual health and wellbeing.

• Relates to ideas, beliefs, values and ethics that arise in the minds and conscience of human beings

Relationships between dimensions of health and wellbeing

• The five dimensions of health and wellbeing are related, meaning that is a change in one dimension has the ability to cause changes in the other four dimensions.
• Optimal health refers to the highest level of health and wellbeing an individual can realistically attain.

Optimal health and wellbeing as a resource

• Optimal health and wellbeing is both a resource and an outcome.
• Benefits include greater economic benefits, improved health, reduced stress, increased social participation, and less strain on the health system.

Benefits of optimal health and wellbeing as a resource globally

• It can reduce the risk of disease transmission between countries and promote sustainability, peace, stability, social development, and economic development.