Contemporary Health Issues 1 - Concept of Health

Lecturer and Contact Information

• Lecturer: Dr. Toba Bamitale
• Phone No.: 08023244625

Contemporary Health Issues 1 (AFE 101)

• Concepts of Health, Health Education, and Wellness
• First Lecture

Concept of Health

• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
• An ideal person experiencing this state of health is practically impossible to achieve
• Factors like age, heredity, and environment make it difficult to achieve this ideal state.

What is Health?

• Health is the capacity to leave a satisfying life, fulfill ambitions, and accommodate change. (Ottawa Charter, World Health Organisation, 1986)
• Health is specific to the person's life—it's personal
• Health is a dynamic, ever-changing process
• Health is holistic not just the absence of disease
• Health is related to the quality of someone's life
• Health is multidimensional
• Health is related to a person's ability to cope with the challenges of life

Concept of Health Education

• The Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology (2001) defines health education as any planned combination of learning experiences based on sound theories.
• These experiences give individuals, groups, and communities the opportunity to acquire information and the skills needed to make quality health decisions.
• Health education comprises of the consciously constructed opportunities for learning which involves some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, including improving knowledge, and developing life skills conducive to individual and community health.

Concept of Wellness

• Wellness, as described by Fahey, Insell and Roth (2003), is the state where individuals rise above physical, mental, and social limitations to live fulfilling and rich lives.
• In spite of having disease or infirmity, a person in a state of wellness can still perform their daily tasks while striving to achieve the ideal health status described by the WHO.
• This makes wellness a dynamic and individualized process.
• Wellness is a lifelong process that produces a positive state of personal well-being at any given time.
• It is characterised by a positive feelings about oneself, optimal physical, psychological, and social functioning and the capacity to control and minimize both internal and external risk factors.
• Wellness is a process, not a goal.
• It is about integrating mind, body, and spirit and accepting oneself.
• While one’s beliefs, feelings, and actions influence one's health, one does not need to make the best decision in all situations.

The Wellness Continuum

• A continuum depicting the spectrum from illness to wellness, with a neutral point representing a state with no presence of illness or wellness.

Years of Healthy Life

• Total lifespan is approximately 77.4 years.
• 8.1 years represent unhealthy living
• 69.3 years represent healthy living

Healthy People 2010 Goals

• Increase the span of "healthy" life
• Eliminate health disparities
• Increase access to information and services for all people

Dimensions of Health and Wellness

• The dimensions include: Emotional/Mental, Intellectual, Physical, Social and Spiritual

Achieving Wellness

• Wellness is a product of healthy lifestyles, just like fitness is the product of regular exercise.
• Wellness reflects how one feels about life and also one's ability to function effectively.

Optimal Health Model

• Components include freedom from disease, optimal functioning, wellness and quality of life, meaningful work, contribution to society, freedom from debilitating conditions and wellness

Factors Influencing Health, Wellness, and Fitness

• Healthy lifestyles like regular physical activity, eating well, stress management, avoiding destructive habits, safe sex practices, good safety habits, learning first aid and personal health habits, seeking and complying with medical advice, being an informed consumer, and protecting the environment.
• Other influencing factors include heredity, environment, and poor medical care.

Benefits of Living a Wellness Lifestyle

• Increase energy levels and productivity at work and school.
• Decrease absenteeism from school and work.
• Decrease recovery time after illness and injury.
• Supply the body with proper nutrients
• Improve awareness of personal needs and the ways to meet them
• Expand and develop intellectual abilities
• Increase the ability to communicate emotion to others and to act assertively rather than aggressively or passively
• Promote the attitude that life's difficulties are challenges and opportunities rather than overwhelming threats
• Increase ability to cope with stress and resist depression
• Improve cardio respiratory system
• Increase muscle tone, strength, flexibility and endurance
• Improve physical appearance
• Help prevent premature onset of chronic disease
• Regulate and improve overall body function
• Promote self-confidence
• Delay ageing process
• Promote social awareness and ability to reach out to others, to understand others and care for others

Explore the fundamental concepts of health, health education, and wellness in this initial lecture of AFE 101. Understand the multidimensional nature of health as defined by the World Health Organization and its implications for personal well-being. Gain insights into the dynamic and holistic characteristics of health beyond mere absence of disease.