Better Health for Individuals

Meanings of health
Balance between a good physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
condition
Controlled by
individual

Early meanings
Healthy = no disease/physical illness
No consideration for mental/spiritual health
Dimensions of Health
Physical, social, mental and spiritual wellbeing = holistic view
Health level = interaction & balance between all dimensions.

Physical health
State of the physical body
Efficient functioning of:
Nutrition
Physical exercise
Decreases chance of:
Disease
Fitness up
Social Health
Interaction with others
Communicating/understanding positive relationships

Mental Health
Psychological and emotional well-being
Positive Factors:
Control stress levels
Productive work
Flexible manner
WHAT DOES HEALTH MEAN TO INDIVIDUALS?
Spiritual Health
Connection to surroundings/religion
Aspire to goal/better life

Relative nature of health
Individual health compared to others
Dynamic nature of health
Constant fluctuations occurring in one level of health
(Health continuum)

Personal Perceptions of Health
Varies from person to person
Factors include:
o Behavior
o Knowledge/experience
o Beliefs/attitude
o Environment
Perceptions of the Health of Others
Factors of perceiving others health:
Stereotypes
Media
Fitness levels
Living conditions
E.g. an individuals perception of health for a child (0-11yrs) may be
that they are constantly active with lots of friends in comparison to
an elderly, whose health focuses on decreasing disease/illness.

Implications of Different Perceptions of Health
Personal perception
Policy level; funding towards specific areas.

PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH



Perceptions of health as social constructs
Recognizes people have different views based on their social
circumstances and what constitutes good health







Health behaviors of young people
Risk taking behaviors
Increasing rate of poor health

Positive health status
Regular research into health status, health outcomes and factors
influencing health
Health of young people continued to improve over time
Life expectancy up and mortality rates down
Social
Construct
Socioeconomic
status
income
education
employemnt
residence
geopgraphic location
rural/remote areas
urban = good service
cultural
background
ethnic meanings
e.g. aboriginal-
australian
gender
community
values and
expectations
Chronic disease reduced

Young people on themselves
Most young people perceive themselves as healthy
All stats and perceptions combined are at odds with common
beliefs held about young people

Differences among young people
Particular groups have lower health and well-being
Death rates of youth are 4 times higher
Those born between 91 and 01 will live 20 years less
Greater chance of chronic illness
Education is a significant factor

Protective:
Enhance level of health
E.g. wearing sunscreen
- Not smoking
Risk:
Development of poor health
E.g. not wearing sunscreen
- Smoking








PROTECTIVE AND RSK BEHAVIOUS


INFLUENCES ON THE HEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS

Health determinants
Positive or negative influence on our health










family
peers
media
religion
culture
knowledge
skill
genetics
attitudes
geopgraphic
location
access to health
services
technology
income
employment
education
Socioeconomic
factor
Environmental
Fctos
Sociocultural
Factors
Inidividual
Factors
Modifiable health determinants
Changed or controlled;
Nutrition
Physical wellbeing
Professional psychological help
Right decision-making (smoking etc.)


Non-modifiable health determinants
Cannot be changed or altered
Genetics
Environmental factors
Income
Disabilities-deaf/blind



Recognizes people have different views and factors on health
A person is solely responsible for their health

STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS

Health Promotion
Aimed at empowering people to increase control over their
health.
Responsibility for Health Promotion

Individuals
Personal behavior
Prevention of ill health achieved by making good choices and
living a healthy lifestyle
DEGREE OF CONTROL INDIVIDUALS CAN EXERT OVER THEIR
HEALTH
HEALTH AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT
Living conditions can restrict peoples ability to make good
choices
Empowerment
Community groups and schools
Alcoholics/gambling anonymous
School councilors/psychologists

Non-government organizations
Non-profitable
Provides counseling, support services e.g. the heart foundation,
cancer council, asthma foundation

Government
Commonwealth government: general well-being of the nation:
National tobacco campaign
Healthy Active Australia

State government: specific health promotion and disease
preventing programs:
Vehicle/passenger restrictions for p1 and p2
Allocated smoking areas

Local governments: implement state-controlled programs at
community level:
Swimming pool fenced
Lifestyle events

International Organizations
World Health Organization (WHO)
Responsible for health promotion


Health Promotion and Strategies
Lifestyle and behavioral approach
Reduce incident of risk behaviors:
Quit smoking campaign
Road Safety education

Preventative Medical approaches
Medical treatments/interventions to promote health:
Cancer screening
Childhood immunization
Public health approaches
Health promoting in schools and workplaces

Primary Prevention Stage:
Preventing illness
Immunization
Secondary Level Prevention
Reduce development of disease
o Monitoring blood pressure
o High cholesterol
Tertiary Prevention Strategies
Preventing chronic ill health through rehabilitation
o Asthma Management Plan







Gives health promotion direction through clear definitions, action
plans and positive involvement

OTTOWA CHARTER

Name Description Examples
DEVELOPING
PERSONAL
SKILLS
Provides an education to
enhance life skills to make
healthy choices
Health campaigns:
- Healthy Harold
- Nothing healthy
about a tan
commercial
CREATIVE
SUPPORTIVE
ENVIRONMENTS
Link between people and their
environment (work and living
conditions) and the
maintenance and care of the
physical environment
- Ads of cleanliness of
parks
- School shelter
- Local council support
STRENGTHEN
COMMUNITY
ACTION
Empowerment of the
communities to enhance self
help and social support to
develop flexible systems for
strengthening public
participation
- Hospitals
- Public transport
- Psychologists
- Charity fun runs
REORIENTE
HEALTH
SERVICE
Changes the focus off official
services to services that are
accessible to a variety of diverse
culture, communities and
society in general
- Heart foundation
- St Vincent De Paul
BUILDING
HEALTH PUBLIC
POLICY
Relation to legislation and laws
keeping society safe
- Use of seatbelt
- Intolerance of drink
driving