Striving for Wellness: Achieving Health and Well-being in a Diverse World

1. A Healthy You!

2. Chapter 1A Healthy You! Learning Outcomes • Define health and wellness • Explain how to strive for wellness • Describe the health concerns of women and men from different ethnic backgrounds • Describe the goals of the government project Healthy People • Explain ways of thinking critically about health-related information Insert Figure 1-1, p5

3. Take Charge of Your Health! • Become more aware of health risks • Keep informed • Practice prevention • Become a more knowledgeable consumer of health care services • Change your health-related behavior

4. Health & Wellness Defined Health: Soundness of body and mind; a state of vigor and vitality that permits a person to function physically, psychologically, and socially Wellness: A state of optimum health, as characterized by active efforts to maximize one’s physical health and well-being

5. Six Dimensions of Health Physical:“soundness of body” healthy physical functioning and the absence of disease Emotional: emotional well-being and ability to share one’s feelings Social: ability to relate effectively with other people Spiritual: connectedness with a higher order or a purpose beyond oneself Intellectual: ability to use one’s intellectual resources to meet challenges Environmental: relationship between humans and other organisms and their physical environment

6. S Six Dimensions of Health

7. Striving for Wellness Involves making changes in your lifestyle and behavior that enhance your health and well-being and improve your quality of life Changing and maintaining health behaviors depends on: Predisposing Factors: (promote/hinder healthy changes) beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, expectancies, values Enabling Factors: (enable change) skills or abilities, physical and mental capabilities, and the availability and accessibility of resources Reinforcing Factors: includes praise and support – including self-praise

8. Human Diversity & Health • Health status and life expectancy differs by race, ethnicity, and gender. • European Americans live longer than African Americans. • Females live longer than males.

9. Factors influencing differences in health status and life expectancy. • Socioeconomic status • Income, education • Access to health care • Environmental Factors • Stress, living conditions, violence • Genetic Factors • Tay-Sachs, sickle-cell anemia • Predispositions – CVD, Cancer, Diabetes • Cross–Cultural Factors • Diets, environment • Gender • Males – higher risk for heart disease • Women – higher risk for chronic conditions, depression

10. Healthy People 2020 The U.S. government’s Healthy People program has set goals and objectives to improve the health and quality of life of Americans since 1990 with the release of Healthy People 2000. Healthy People 2020 Overarching Goals • Attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death; • Achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups; • Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all; and • Promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages [http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/]

11. Be a “Critical Thinker” Think critically about health information by: • Being skeptical • Examining definitions • Recognizing that correlation is not causation • Considering the quality of evidence upon which conclusions are based • Not oversimplifying • Not overgeneralizing For online health-related information, also make sure to: • Check out the credentials of the source • Look for citations • Beware of product claims