Health-and-Illness

Health and Illness Overview

Learning Outcomes

• Differentiate health, illness, and wellness.

• Identify theoretical models of health and their assumptions.

• Relate achievement of basic needs to health status.

• Explain relationships between lifestyle, locus of control, self-efficacy, health care attitudes, and self-concept to health behaviors.

• Describe three approaches to health maintenance.

• Discuss various health care settings and adapt to nursing practice.

• Identify members of the health care team and categorize their respective roles.

Definition of Health

• Health is defined by WHO as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease.

Components of Health (WHO Model)

• Physiological: Functionality of the body's biological systems.

• Social: Ability to connect and function within society.

• Mental: Psychological, emotional, and intellectual state of the individual.

Situational Analysis of Health Definition

• The term "complete" in the definition implies it is difficult for any individual to be healthy for a sustainable period.

• Observations suggest that the definition equates health with happiness.

Alternative Perspectives on Health

• Health as the ability to maintain homeostasis (Claude Bernard).

• The significance of preventing diseases via environmental factors (Nightingale).

• View of health in nursing: performing 14 components of care autonomously (Henderson).

Wellness Concept

• Wellness symbolizes harmony of body and mind viewed through culture or individual values (Rogers).

• Health as a dynamic state throughout the life cycle (King).

• Health influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors reflecting behavioral system integration (Johnson).

Homeostasis

• Defined as the ability to maintain a dynamic equilibrium regulated by negative feedback mechanisms (Walter Cannon).

Negative Feedback Mechanism

• A regulatory system in biological processes where the end product reduces the initiating stimulus.

Models of Health and Illness

• Wellness Continuum: Ranges from premature death to high-level wellness, illustrating a spectrum of health.

• Health Belief Model: Focusing on individual perceptions, modifying factors, and likelihood of health actions.

• Smith's Model of Health: Differentiates between clinical, role performance, adaptive, and eudemonistic models.

• Agent-Host-Environmental Model: Focuses on the interactions between the host, agent, and environment affecting health.

Differentiating Illness from Disease

• Illness: A state where an individual's functioning is impaired compared to previous experiences.

• Disease: A pathological alteration in bodily functions leading to reduced capacities or shortened life span.

• Illness reflects an impaired ability to function healthily for extended periods, whereas disease is defined by known causes and specific manifestations.

Common Causes of Disease

• Biologic agents (e.g., microorganisms)

• Genetic and developmental defects

• Physical agents (e.g., extreme temperatures)

• Chemical agents (e.g., toxic substances)

• Emotional/physical responses to stress.

Classification Based on Duration

• Acute: Short duration.

• Chronic: Lasts more than six months.

• Sub-acute: Symptoms are strong but last longer than acute.

Disease Descriptions

• Organic: Apparent anatomical changes.

• Functional: No recognizable structural changes despite symptoms.

• Occupational: Arising from work-related factors.

• Familial: Occurring in multiple family members.

• Epidemic: Widespread in a community at one time.

• Endemic: Present constantly or recur in a community.

• Pandemic: Extremely widespread, impacting entire countries or continents.

• Sporadic: Occasional cases occur rarely.

Stages of Illness

1. Symptom Experience: Recognizing something is wrong.

2. Sick Role Assumption: Acceptance and excusal from typical duties.

3. Medical Care Contact: Seeking professional validation and reassurance.

4. Dependent Patient Role: Relying on health professionals.

5. Recovery/Rehabilitation: Transitioning back to responsibilities.

Risk Factors for Illness

Factors that increase vulnerability include genetic, physiological, age, environmental, and lifestyle influences.

Leavell and Clark's Levels of Prevention

• Primary Prevention: Health promotion to avert disease.

• Secondary Prevention: Early detection and prompt treatment to limit disability.

• Tertiary Prevention: Rehabilitation and prevention of complications.

Primary Prevention Strategies

• Promote optimal health: Quit smoking, exercise, and eat a balanced diet.

Secondary Prevention Strategies

• Regular screenings and health maintenance examinations.

Tertiary Prevention Examples

• Rehabilitation processes post-disease or injury, monitoring chronic conditions.

Stress Responses to Illness

• Stress: A common phenomenon where individuals respond to changes in their normal state.

• Stressors: Events leading to stress, categorized into internal, external, developmental, and situational.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

1. Alarm Stage: Immediate stress response; "fight or flight" initiated.

2. Resistance Stage: Adaptation occurs as the body copes with stress.

3. Exhaustion Stage: Resources are depleted, potentially leading to health deterioration.

Physiologic Responses to Stress

• Local adaptation in specific organs (e.g., inflammation).

Inflammation Purposes

• Localize injury, protect tissue, and prepare for healing.

Healing Processes

• Regeneration: Replacement of damaged cells with new ones.

• Scar Formation: Involves fibrous tissue replacing damaged cells.

• Wound Healing Types: Clean wounds (First Intention), extensive tissue loss (Second Intention), delayed closure (Third Intention).

Local Physiologic Responses to Stress

• Defense mechanisms mobilized during tissue injury or infection, including neutrophils and lymphocytes.