Concept of Heath Flashcards
Nursing Metaparadigm
Terms- Health
A balanced state of physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, influenced by personal and external factors.
Terms- Disease
A objective, measurable dysfunction in the body’s structure or function; can be acute, chronic, or communicable.
Terms- Illness
A person’s subjective experience of feeling unwell, with or without a diagnosable disease.
Chronic Illness
Duration: Lasts for extended periods (6 months to lifetime).
Onset: Slow with remission (symptoms disappear) and exacerbation (symptoms reappear).
Care Focus: Promote independence and control for the patient.
Management: Requires multiple resources for effective self-management.
Acute Illness
Duration: Short with severe symptoms.
Onset: Symptoms appear + subside quickly.
Interventions: May / may not need
medical/nursing care
Recovery: Most people return to regular activities afterward.
Terms- Wellness
An active approach to improving health through lifestyle choices + personal responsibility. (subjective experience)
Terms- Well-being
Overall state of happiness, satisfaction, and positive functioning, broader concept combining health and wellness.
Health Conceptualizations
Stability: Maintaining homeostasis, adapting to changes.
Actualization: Fulfillment of human potential; health and wellness viewed interchangeably.
Actualization & Stability:
Combines self-care, relationships, adapting to life demands, and harmony with environment.
Resource: Capacity for roles, meeting daily demands (WHO, Ottawa Charter, 1986).
Unity: Whole-person approach; self-transcendence and actualization.
Historical Approaches- Medical
- Focuses on restoring health through medical intervention.
- Dominated 20th-century Western thinking.
- Targets physiological risk factors (e.g., hypertension, obesity).
- Prioritizes disease treatment over prevention and promotion.
- Relies on a strong healthcare system for population health.
Historical Approaches- Behavioral
- Origin: Emerged in 1970s due to limited health improvement despite higher healthcare spending.
- Lalonde Report (1974)
- Focus: Shifted responsibility to individuals to address behavioral risks (e.g., smoking, poor diet).
- Strategies: Promoted health through education and social marketing.
- Criticism:
+ Favored privileged groups capable of lifestyle changes.
+ Accused of “victim blaming” for ignoring structural issues.
Historical Approaches- Socio-environmental
- Focuses on political, social, and cultural factors influencing health.
- Links personal behaviors to social and physical environments.
- Addresses socio-environmental barriers like poverty and pollution.
- Advocates for:
+ Downstream: Supporting individuals.
+ Upstream: Driving systemic change with policymakers.
Canada Health Documents - Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986)
- Focuses on supportive environments, community action, personal skill development, and reorienting health services.
- Shifts from a medical to a socio-environmental approach.
Canada Health Documents- Population Health Promotion (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2013)
- Recognizes broader determinants of health.
- Emphasizes addressing social, economic, and environmental factors.
- Promotes cross-sector collaboration and evidence-based policies to improve health outcomes.
Canada Health Documents- Toronto Charter for a Healthy Canada (2002)
- Addresses social and economic inequalities.
- Focus on social health determinants, policy development, and equity
Canada Health Documents- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Call to Action
Purpose:
- Reveal legacy of Residential Schools.
Promote reconciliation and inclusivity.
Calls to Action #18–24 (Health):
- Close health outcome gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.
- Recognize distinct health needs (Métis, Inuit, off-reserve populations).
- Fund healing centers + collaborate on Aboriginal healing practices.
- Increase Aboriginal healthcare professionals, cultural competency training.
- Include Aboriginal health issues in medical, nursing curricula.