Health and Wellness Overview

Study Notes

Healthy People 2030 is a national objective that promotes a society in which all people live long, healthy lives.
It identifies leading health indicators, which are high-priority health issues in the United States.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1947, 2018).
It is a state of being that people define in relation to their own values, personality, and lifestyle.

Health beliefs are a person's ideas, convictions, and attitudes about health and illness, which can influence health positively or negatively.
Models help explain complex concepts or ideas, such as health and illness.
Examples of models include:
- Health Belief Model
- Health Promotion Model
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
- Holistic Health Model

Internal variables include:
- Developmental stage
- Intellectual background
- Perception of functioning
- Emotional factors
- Spiritual factors
External variables include:
- Family role and practices
- Social determinants of health
- Culture

Health promotion helps individuals maintain or enhance their present health.
Health education helps people develop a greater understanding of their health and how to better manage their health risks.
Illness prevention protects people from actual or potential threats to health.

Primary prevention reduces the incidence of disease.
Secondary prevention focuses on preventing the spread of disease, illness, or infection once it occurs.
Tertiary prevention occurs when a defect or disability is permanent or irreversible.

Risk factors are any attribute, quality, environmental situation, or trait that increases the vulnerability of an individual or group to an illness or accident.
Examples of risk factors include:
- Nonmodifiable risk factors
- Modifiable risk factors
- Environment

Identify risk factors through assessment, health risk appraisal forms, and education and counseling.
Implement wellness strategies and understand the stages of change using the Transtheoretical Model of Change.

Illness is a state in which a person's physical, emotional, intellectual, social, developmental, or spiritual functioning is diminished or impaired.
Acute illness is a short-duration and severe illness, while chronic illness lasts longer than 6 months and affects functioning.
Illness behavior involves how people monitor their bodies and define and interpret their symptoms.
Variables influencing illness and illness behavior include internal and external variables.