Personal Health Notes- Chapter 1

Wellness and Health

Defining Health and Wellness

  • Health: Overall condition of body or mind; presence/absence of illness or injury.
  • Wellness: Optimal health and vitality across multiple dimensions; depends on conscious decisions.

Dimensions of Wellness

  • Nine interrelated dimensions:
    • Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Interpersonal, Spiritual, Environmental, Occupational, Financial, Cultural.
  • Changes in one dimension affect others.

Life Expectancy and Health Span

  • Life Expectancy: Expected period of time a person lives.
  • Health Span: How long one stays healthy.
  • Chronic diseases reduce health span.
  • Lifestyle choices impact both.

Public Health Impact

  • 20th-century public health achievements added 25+ years to life expectancy.
  • Improvements include:
    • Vaccinations, disease control, safer food/workplaces, motor vehicle safety.
  • Recent U.S. life expectancy decline possibly due to opioid/obesity epidemics.

Leading Causes of Death

  • Heart disease and cancer are top causes.
  • Lifestyle factors (diet, inactivity, smoking, alcohol) are significant contributors.
  • Accidents are a leading cause of death for those aged 15-24.

Contributors to Death

  • Key contributors include diet/activity patterns, tobacco, microbial agents, alcohol, illicit drug use.

Promoting National Health

  • Health promotion: Enabling people to increase control over their health.
  • Key organizations:
    • National Institutes of Health (NIH).
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

  • Health insurance marketplaces facilitate insurance purchase.
  • Subsidies available for those below income requirements.
  • Allows students to stay on parents' plans until age 26.

Healthy People Initiative

  • Healthy People 2030 objectives:
    • Eliminate preventable disease.
    • Achieve health equity and health literacy.
    • Create healthy environments.
    • Promote healthy behaviors across life stages.
    • Engage leadership for effective policies.

Health Disparities

  • Linked to social, economic, and environmental factors.
  • Influenced by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, income/education, disability, location, sexual orientation.

Factors Influencing Wellness

  • Health habits, heredity/family history, environment, access to healthcare.
  • Personal behaviors can outweigh negative factors.

Lifestyle Management for Wellness

  • Behavior change involves cultivating healthy habits.
  • Steps include:
    • Examining current habits.
    • Choosing a target behavior.
    • Learning about the behavior.
    • Finding support.
  • Building motivation involves:
    • Weighing pros/cons.
    • Boosting self-efficacy.
    • Internal vs. external locus of control.
    • Visualization.
    • Role models.
    • Overcoming barriers.

Stages of Change (Transtheoretical Model)

  • Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance, Termination.

Dealing with Relapse

  • Relapse is common; plan for it.
  • Forgive setbacks, acknowledge progress, learn from experience.

Skills for Change

  • Monitor behavior, analyze data, set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-frame specific).
  • Develop action plan:
    • Modify environment, control related habits, reward progress, involve others.

Personal Contract

  • Formalize plan with a signed contract.

Putting Plan into Action

  • Commit, track progress, reward achievements.
  • Address negative influences, maintain motivation, reconsider techniques, manage stress.

Lifelong Health

  • Maintaining good health is ongoing.
  • Create a supportive environment for wellness.