Nurturing Health and Happiness through Personal Choices and Social Initiatives

Wellness as a Health Goal - Health: The overall condition of body or mind and the presence or absence of illness or Injury - Wellness: Optimal health and vitality, encompassing all the dimensions of well-being = Depends on conscious decisions that affect risk factors Dimensions of Wellness - Nine interrelated dimensions of wellness interact continuously - Making changes in one dimension often affects others The Long and the Short of Life Expectancy - Life expectancy: The period a member of a given population is expected to live - Our genes can determine up to 25% of the variability in our life span - Correlated to a shorter life span are susceptibility to coronary artery disease and Modifiable behaviors such as cigarette smoking - Other factors such as obesity and drug use also strongly correlate to life span - Education helps us live longer - Morbidity and mortality rates from common infectious diseases were much higher in the Early 20th century - Life expectancy has nearly doubled - Major differences between life span and health span is freedom from chronic or Disabling disease - Chronic disease: A disease that develops and continues over a long period - Each of us can take responsibility for our lifestyle choices Promoting National Health - Health promotion: The process of enabling people to increase control over their health and Its determinants - National Institute of Health - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Insurance Options - Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010 - Has remained in effect, but certain provisions have been altered - Health insurance marketplace facilitates the purchase of health insurance at the state Level - Those who are below income requirements are eligible for federal help with premiums - Students benefit in specific ways, such as with the ability to stay on their parents’ plans Until 26 years old The Healthy People Initiative - Healthy People 2030, in development, proposes the following broad objectives - Eliminating preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death - Achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve health literacy - Create social, economic, and physical environments that promote good health for all - Promote healthy development and healthy behaviors across every stage of life - Engage leadership and the public to design effective health policies Health Issues for Diverse Populations - Health disparities are linked to social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage - Other differences are biological and cultural - Sex and Gender - Race and Ethnicity - Income and education - Disability - Geographic location - Sexual orientation and gender identity Factors That Influence Wellness - Health habits - Heredity/family history - Environment - Access to health care - Personal health behaviors - Your personal behavior can tip the balance toward good health, even when heredity or Environment is a negative factor. Reaching Wellness through Lifestyle Management - Behavior change: Cultivating healthy behaviors and working to overcome unhealthy ones - Getting serious about your health - Examine your current health habits - Choose a target behavior - Learn about your target behavior - Find help - Building motivation to change - Examine the pros and cons of change - Boost self-efficacy - Locus of control: The extent to which a person believes he or she has control Over the events of his or her life - Internal locus of control versus external locus of control - Visualization and self-talk - Role models and supportive people - Identify and overcome barriers to change - Enhancing your readiness to change - Transtheoretical, or “stages of change”, model - What stage are you in? - Precontemplation - Contemplation - Preparation - Action - Maintenance - Termination Developing Skills for Change: Creating a Personalized Plan - Monitor your behavior and gather data - Analyze the data and identify patterns - Be “SMART” about setting goals - Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Realistic - Time-frame specific - Devise a plan of action - Get what you need - Modify your environment - Control related habits - Reward yourself - Involve the people around you - Plan for challenges - Make a personal contract