Assignment:Human Experience across the Health-Illness Continuum
Assignment:Human Experience across the Health-Illness Continuum
Assignment:Human Experience across the Health-Illness Continuum
Benchmark – Human Experience across the Health-Illness Continuum
Benchmark – Human Experience across the Health-Illness Continuum
Health is described as the well-being of the body, mind, and a person’s relationships with others. Health is directly affects a person’s quality of life, which the level of overall satisfaction that an individual gets from life. The aspects of health include physical, mental, emotional, and social wellness. Wellness is defined as a state of high-level health. The purpose of this paper is to describe the health-illness continuum, its essence in patient care, and where I fall on the continuum.
ORDER A CUSTOM PAPER NOW
The Health-Illness Continuum
The health-illness continuum is a model that illustrates the full range of health with two directions pointing to the extremes of wellness and illness. One end of the continuum represents poor health, while the other end represents high-level health. The end heading in the right direction representing high-level health is characterized by a high energy level, enthusiasm for life, a strong sense of purpose, a feeling of well-being, and supportive relationships (Ali et al., 2018). On the other hand, the direction toward illness is characterized by low energy levels, frequent aches and pain, prolonged illness, a negative outlook on life, and isolation from others (Ali et al., 2018). At the midpoint of the continuum, individuals are neither ill nor perfectly well and their health can decline or improve.
The perspective of the health-illness continuum is important to consider concerning health and the human experience when caring for patients since many of the choices an individual makes daily affect their position on the health continuum. Individuals’ behavior can move them toward illness or wellness. Besides, the perspective of the health-illness continuum helps to understand why the ever-changing state of health and how individuals adapt to changes in the internal and external environments to maintain a state of well-being (Dineen-Griffin et al., 2019). Furthermore, the healthcare provider should consider measures that can help patients at the left end of the continuum move toward the direction of high-level wellness.
Relation of Human-Illness Continuum to Value, Dignity, and Promotion of Human Flourishing
Understanding the health-illness continuum has helped me as a healthcare provider that for individuals to attain a high level of wellness they need to move through the steps of awareness, education, and growth. Thus, it is my nursing responsibility to provide health awareness to individuals and provide them with pertinent education that will empower them to take initiatives that will foster their growth and human flourishing (Koskinen, 2020). Moreover, I have learned that medical treatments move patients to the midpoint but more measures are needed to move towards wellness. After getting to the midpoint, it depends on a person’s choice to move towards wellness or relapse into illness. Therefore, I provide health education that will continuously improve individuals’ health and improve their quality of value, which promotes their value and dignity (Swan et al., 2019). Furthermore, I endeavor to promote people’s values and dignity by recommending interventions that do not strip away their dignity and that align with Christian beliefs.
Reflection on the Personal State of Health and the Health Illness Continuum
I have a good overall state of health having no current medical or mental health conditions. The behaviors that have supported my good state of health include having adequate rest with an average of 8 hours of sleep per day, healthy dietary practices, exercising regularly, and attending annual well-exams and recommended screenings. In addition, I maintain high standards of personal and environmental hygiene, which have helped to prevent infectious diseases. However, I have some detracting behavior like consumption of alcohol and using recreational marijuana. I fall on the right side of the continuum since I am aware of the interventions I should adopt to live a healthier lifestyle. My healthy lifestyle practices were driven by the understanding that I am at risk of diabetes owing to a family history of the disease. I sought health education on the prevention of diabetes and adopted healthy dietary habits, exercising, and quitting smoking. I believe that if I am consistent with these healthy lifestyle practices, I will attain higher levels of wellness and lower my risk of developing chronic lifestyle illnesses.
Available Options and Resources
The options and resources I can use to progress toward wellness include community health facilities, mental health facilities, gymnasiums, and health education programs. Community health and mental health facilities will be vital in accessing healthcare services including well-exams, consultations, screening, mental health prevention services, and therapy (Koskinen, 2020). Gymnasiums will be essential for engaging in aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises, which are vital for physical fitness. Furthermore, I can take advantage of community health education programs to learn more about health promotion and disease prevention.
Conclusion
The aspects of health include physical, mental, emotional, and social wellness. The health-illness continuum points to the extremes of wellness and illness and the midpoint is characterized by the absence of sickness. Attaining a high level of illness is dependent on a person’s lifestyle choices. The nurse has a role of providing education to achieve wellness. I currently fall in the direction towards wellness on the health-illness continuum.
References
Ali, T., Hussain, M., Afzal, M., Khan, W. A., Hur, T., Amin, M. B., Kim, D., Kang, B.H.,& Lee, S. (2018). Clinically harmonized wellness concepts model for health and wellness services. IEEE Access, 6, 26660-26674. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2834391
Dineen-Griffin, S., Garcia-Cardenas, V., Williams, K., & Benrimoj, S. I. (2019). Helping patients help themselves: A systematic review of self-management support strategies in primary health care practice. PloS one, 14(8), e0220116. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220116
Koskinen, V. (2020). Building skills for lifelong wellness: An empirical study on the wellness-oriented lifestyle. JYU dissertations.
Swan, B. A., Haas, S., & Jessie, A. T. (2019). Care coordination: roles of registered nurses across the care continuum. Nursing Economics, 37(6), 317-323.
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Research the health-illness continuum and its relevance to patient care. In a 750-1,000-word paper, discuss the relevance of the continuum to patient care and present a perspective of your current state of health in relation to the wellness spectrum. Include the following:
Examine the health-illness continuum and discuss why this perspective is important to consider in relation to health and the human experience when caring for patients.
Explain how understanding the health-illness continuum enables you, as a health care provider, to better promote the value and dignity of individuals or groups and to serve others in ways that promote human flourishing and are consistent with the Christian worldview.
Reflect on your overall state of health. Discuss what behaviors support or detract from your health and well-being. Explain where you currently fall on the health-illness continuum.
Discuss the options and resources available to you to help you move toward wellness on the health-illness spectrum. Describe how these would assist in moving you toward wellness (managing a chronic disease, recovering from an illness, self-actualization, etc.).
you are required to cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.
