Introduction Slides for Students PDF

Wellbeing: Basic facts and concepts  OUTLINE Overview of Wellbeing Risk factors that affect people’s health and how to minimize them Overview of Wellbeing A- What is wellbeing? - development of one’s potential...

Wellbeing: Basic facts and concepts  OUTLINE Overview of Wellbeing Risk factors that affect people’s health and how to minimize them Overview of Wellbeing A- What is wellbeing? - development of one’s potential experience of positive - having some control over one’s emotions life - having a sense of purpose - experiencing positive relationships Well-being is the combination of feeling 9 good and functioning well (Huppert, 2009).  Subjective well-being Positive mental health Positive mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (WHO, 2001).  productivity in the - prosocial behaviors workplace - positive relationships Well-being has been linked to success at professional, personal, and interpersonal levels (Diener, 2012; Huppert, 2013) - creativity - life satisfaction - physical health - longevity  By definition, well-being includes the presence of: Positive Absence of emotions and negative Satisfaction moods (e.g., emotions (e.g., with life contentment, depression, happiness) anxiety) Positive Fulfillment functioning In simple terms, well-being can be described as judging life positively and feeling good (Veenhoven, 2008).  Physical well-being (e.g., feeling very healthy and full of energy) is also viewed as critical to overall well-being. Researchers from different disciplines have examined different aspects of well-being that include the following (Eid, 2008; Diener, 2000): Developmen Physical Economic Social well- t and well-being well-being being activity Engaging Emotional Psychologic Life activities well-being al well-being satisfaction and work B- Wheel of Wellbeing C- Why is well-being useful for public health? Well-being integrates mental health (mind) and physical health (body)  holistic approaches to disease prevention and health promotion. Results from cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies find that well-being is associated with: Self-perceived Healthy Mental and Longevity health behaviors physical Factors in the Social physical and Productivity connectedness social environment  Well-being can provide a common metric that can help policy makers shape and compare the effects of different policies. E.g. loss of greenspace might impact well- being more so than commercial development of an area.  Well-being is associated decreased risk of with numerous health-, disease, illness, and job-, family-, and economically-related injury benefits. better immune E.g. higher levels of well- functioning being are associated with  increase d Individuals with high levels longevit of well-being are more y speedie productive at work and are r more likely to contribute to their communities. recover y  Previous research lends support to the view that the negative affect component of well-being is strongly associated with neuroticism and that positive affect component has a similar association with extraversion (Steel, Schmidt, & Schultz, 2008). Although a substantial proportion of the variance in well- being can be attributed to heritable factors, environmental factors play an equally if not more important role (Diener, Lucas, Schimmack, & Helliwell, 2009). E- How is well-being measured? Because well-being is subjective, it is typically measured with self-reports. The use of self-reported measures is fundamentally different from using objective measures (e.g., household income, unemployment levels, neighborhood crime) often used to assess well-being. The use of both objective and subjective measures, when available, are desirable for public policy purposes. F- Wellbeing in research - What are some findings from these studies? Data from the 2001 NHIS and Quality of Well-Being scale, found that males or females between the ages of 20–39 had significantly better well-being (scores ≥ 0.82) compared with males or females 40 years of age or older (scores >0.79) (Hanmer et al., 2006). Data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System found that 5.6% of US adults (about 12 million) reported that they were dissatisfied/very dissatisfied with their lives (Strine, Chapman, Balluz, Moriarty, & Mokdad, 2008).  G- What are some correlates and determinants of individual- level well-being? There is no sole determinant of individual well-being, but in general, well-being is dependent: good health, positive social relationships, availability and access to basic resources (e.g., shelter, income). Life satisfaction is dependent more closely on the availability of basic needs being met (food, shelter, income) as well as access to modern conveniences (e.g., electricity) (Diener, Lucas, Schimmack, & Helliwell, 2009). Pleasant emotions are more closely associated with having supportive relationships (Diener, Lucas, Schimmack, & Helliwell, 2009).  Genes and Personality At the individual level, genetic factors, personality, and demographic factors are related to well-being. Positive emotions are heritable to some degree (heritability estimates range from 0.36 to 0.81), suggesting that there may be a genetically determined set-point for emotions such as happiness and sadness (Schnittker, 2008). However, the expression of genetic effects are often influenced by factors  Longitudinal studies have found that well-being is sensitive to life events (e.g., unemployment, marriage) (Lucas, Clark, Georgellis, & Diener, 2004). Some personality factors that are strongly associated with well-being include optimism, extroversion, and self-esteem (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003).  Age and Gender In general, men and women have similar levels of well- being, but this pattern changes with age (Inglehart, 2002), and has changed over time (Stevenson & Wolfers, 2009). There is a U-shaped distribution of well-being by age— younger and older adults tend to have more well-being compared to middle-aged adults (Argyle, 1999).  Income and Work The relationship between income and well-being is complex. Depending on which types of measures are used and which comparisons are made, income correlates only modestly with well-being. Unemployment negatively affects well-being, both in the short- and long-term (Warr, 2003).  Relationships Having supportive relationships is one of the strongest predictors of well-being, having a notably positive effect (Diener & Suh, 2003). H- What are some correlates of well-being at the national level? Countries differ substantially in their levels of well-being. Societies with higher well-being are those that are more economically developed, have effective governments with low levels of corruption, have high levels of trust, and can meet citizens’ basic needs for food and health (Diener, Lucas, Schimmack, & Helliwell, 2009). Cultural factors (e.g., individualism vs. collectivism, social norms) also play a role in national estimates of well-being (Helliwell & Huang, 2008).  Risk factors that affect people’s health and how to minimize them Health and wellbeing are affected by many factors – those linked to poor health, disability, disease or death, are known as risk factors. A risk factor is a characteristic, condition, or behavior that increases the likelihood of getting a disease or injury. Risk factors often coexist and interact with one another. E.g. physical inactivity will, over time, cause weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. A- Risk Factors for health In general, risk factors can be categorized into the following groups: Behavioral Physiological Demographic Environmental Genetic  Behavioral risk factors usually relate to ‘actions’ that the individual has chosen to take. They can therefore be eliminated or reduced through lifestyle or behavioral choices. Examples include: smoking tobacco drinking too much alcohol nutritional choices physical inactivity spending too much time in the sun without proper protection not having certain vaccinations unprotected sex  Physiological risk factors are those relating to an individual’s body or biology. They may be influenced by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and other broad factors. Examples include: being overweight or obese high blood pressure high blood cholesterol high blood sugar (glucose).  Demographic risk factors are those that relate to the overall population. Examples include: age gender population subgroups, such as occupation, religion, or income. For high and middle-income countries, the most important risk factors are those related to long-term diseases, whereas in low-income countries, factors such as childhood malnutrition and unprotected sex are much more widespread.  Risk factors also change with age. Some risk factors almost exclusively affect children such as malnutrition and indoor smoke from solid fuels. For adults, there are considerable differences depending on age: Unprotected sex and addictive substances (e.g. tobacco and alcohol) account for most of the health problems in younger adults. Risk factors for long-term diseases and cancers mainly affect older adults. Gender differences also exist. For example, men are much more likely to be at risk of factors associated with addictive substances. Women are prone to suffer from iron deficiency during pregnancy.  Environmental risk factors cover a wide range of topics such as social, economic, cultural and political factors as well as physical, chemical and biological factors. Examples include: access to clean water and sanitation risks in the workplace air pollution social settings.  Genetic risk factors are based on an individual’s genes. Some diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy, come entirely from an individual’s ‘genetic make-up’. Many other diseases, such as asthma or diabetes, reflect the interaction between the genes of the individual and environmental factors. Other diseases, like sickle cell anemia, are more prevalent in certain population subgroups. B- Global risks for mortality and demographic factors The number of total global deaths for any cause in 2004 was 59 million people. The table below shows the ten most common risk factors that caused a large portion of total global deaths in 2004 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The top six leading risk factors are all linked to potential development of long-term diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.  Public health challenges: Pandemic Crisis and Its Impact on Lebanon and the World Divide yourself into 2 groups choose 1 area in Lebanon that is impoverished, design a plan to improve their conditions.