Understanding Health and Wellbeing

• Health and wellbeing refers to a person's physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual state, characterized by equilibrium and feelings of happiness, health, capability, and engagement.

Dynamic Nature of Health and Wellbeing

• Health and wellbeing is dynamic, constantly changing; for example, feeling relaxed after a holiday but stressed upon returning to school.

Subjective Nature of Health and Wellbeing

• Health and wellbeing is subjective, influenced by personal beliefs, feelings, and opinions.

Disease vs. Illness

• Disease is a physical or mental disturbance involving symptoms, dysfunction, or tissue damage.
• Illness is a subjective, personal experience of a disease or injury.

Physical Health and Wellbeing

• Relates to the body's functioning and physical capacity to perform daily activities.
• Includes:
  • Healthy body weight
  • Absence of illness, disease, or injury
  • Optimal blood pressure
  • Optimal energy levels
  • Appropriate fitness levels
  • Physical capacity to perform daily tasks
  • Well-functioning body systems and organs

Social Health and Wellbeing

• Relates to the quality of interactions and relationships with family, friends, and others.
• Includes:
  • Productive relationships
  • Supportive family
  • Supportive network of friends
  • Ability to adapt to social situations
  • Effective communication skills

Emotional Health and Wellbeing

• Relates to the ability to express feelings appropriately.
• Includes:
  • Recognizing and understanding emotional reactions
  • Effectively managing emotions
  • Experiencing appropriate emotions
  • High level of resilience

Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Relates to the state of mind and brain, including the ability to think and process information.
• Includes:
  • Low stress and anxiety
  • Optimal self-esteem
  • Positive thought patterns
  • High confidence levels
  • Using logic and reasoning

Spiritual Health and Wellbeing

• Relates to ideas, beliefs, values, and ethics.
• Includes:
  • Sense of belonging and connection
  • Positive meaning and purpose in life
  • Peace and hope
  • Developed personal values
  • Acting according to values and beliefs

Relationships Between Dimensions of Health and Wellbeing

• The five dimensions of health and wellbeing are interconnected.
• A change in one dimension can affect others to varying degrees.
• Predicting effects is possible, but outcomes are unique to each individual and situation.

Optimal Health and Wellbeing as a Resource

• For individuals, being healthy creates a positive cycle, improving work and life quality.
  • Work productively
  • Reduced healthcare costs
  • Sleep well
  • Live independently
  • Increase leisure time
  • Work towards their life purpose
  • Spend time with friends
  • Effectively run a household
  • Exercise
  • Earn an income
  • Education
• Adequate energy levels can allow individuals to attend school and concentrate, improving their ability to think and process new information
• Low stress and anxiety levels can enable participation in community sports, promoting physical activity and health.
• Nationally, benefits include economic gains (higher incomes, less absenteeism, reduced healthcare costs) and social benefits (improved life expectancy, social participation, shorter surgery waiting times).
  • Longer healthier lives
  • Health system savings
  • Fewer people relying on social security
  • Increased productivity
  • Higher average incomes
  • Reduced stress and anxiety in the community
  • Increased social participation
• Freedom from disease and injury nationally reduces reliance on the healthcare system and allows investment in infrastructure development.
• Globally, benefits include reduced disease transmission, promotion of peace and stability, and promotion of economic and social development.
  • Reduces risk of disease transmission between countries
  • Assists in promoting peace and stability
  • Promotes economic development
  • Promotes social development
  • Promotes sustainability
• Low stress and anxiety levels globally can increase productivity and international trade, boosting economic development.
• Freedom from disease worldwide reduces the spread of infectious diseases, lowering morbidity and mortality rates.

Self-Assessed Health Status

• An individual's subjective opinion of their health, state of mind, and life in general, commonly sourced from population surveys.
• Participants rate their health on a scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, poor.

Life Expectancy

• The average number of years of life remaining at a particular age, assuming constant death rates.
• Life expectancy increases with age because individuals have survived early-life mortality risks.

Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

• The average time an individual at a specific age can expect to live in full health, without the consequences of disease or injury.
• Considers both life expectancy data and the impact of ill health, indicating quality and quantity of life.
• HALE is typically lower than life expectancy due to time spent with health issues.
• Policymakers use HALE to improve not just longevity but the quality of life.

Mortality

• Deaths at a population level in a given period, usually 12 months.

Mortality Rate

• The number of deaths from a specific or all causes, per 1,000 or 100,000 people in a 12-month period.

Infant Mortality

• Deaths of infants between birth and their first birthday, per 1,000 live births.

Infant Mortality Rate

• The rate of deaths of infants between birth and their first birthday, usually per 1,000 live births.

Under-5 Mortality

• Deaths in children between birth and their fifth birthday, per 1,000 live births.

Morbidity

• Ill health in an individual and levels of ill health within a population, often expressed through incidence and prevalence. As mortality rates have fallen, morbidity rates for many causes have increased because people are more likely to survive conditions that once caused death, often living longer with chronic illnesses or disabilities, which increases morbidity rates. Additionally, aging populations, improved diagnostics, and lifestyle factors contribute to a greater prevalence of non-fatal health issues

Incidence

• The number or rate of new cases of a disease in a population during a given period, usually 12 months.

Prevalence

• The total number or proportion of cases of a disease or condition present in a population at a given time.

Morbidity Trends

• Morbidity trends influence future mortality and morbidity rates.
• Long-term impacts from morbidity data take time to observe because chronic conditions develop slowly and healthcare, lifestyle, and policies influence populations gradually.

Burden of Disease

• A measure of the impact of diseases and injuries, representing the gap between current health status and an ideal situation of living to old age free of disease and disability.
• Measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY).

Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY)

• A measure of burden of disease where one DALY equals one year of healthy life lost due to illness and/or death.
• Calculated as the sum of Years of Life Lost (YLL) due to premature death and Years Lived with Disability (YLD).
• YLL (Fatal component) is the years of life lost due to premature death.
• YLD (Non-fatal component) is the years of healthy life lost to disability, injury, or disease.