Health and Wellness

• Determinants


  What influence our health
• Health Field Concept


  • First attempt to organize causes and factors of sickness and death in Canada into an "orderly pattern that was both intellectually acceptable and sufficiently simple to permit a quick location of almost any idea, problem or activity related to health: a sort of map of the health territory."
• Health Field concept extended

  • Income and social status
  • Social support networks
  • Education
  • Employment and Working Conditions
  • Physical Environments
  • Biology and Genetic Endowment
  • Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills
  • Healthy Child Development
  • Health Services
• Income and social status


  One of the most important social determinants of health. Higher income and social status are linked to better health. The greater the gap between the richest and poorest people, the greater the differences in health. Level of income shapes overall living conditions that affect physiological and psychological functioning and the take-up of health-related behaviours such as quality of diet, extent of physical activity, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol use.
• Birth to age 2 are the most influential time of the life cycle (first 1000 days)
• Safe water and clean air, healthy workplaces, safe houses, communities and roads all contribute to health
• Broad categories of health concepts

  • Health as not ill
  • Health despite disease
  • Health as a reserve
  • Health as behaviour or "lifestyle"
  • Health as physical fitness
  • Health as energy and vitality
  • Health as social relationships
  • Health as function
  • Health as psycho-social wellbeing

  
• Bio-medical model of health


  Proposes that all diseases or physical disorders can be explained by disturbances in physiological processes, which result from injury, biochemical imbalances, bacterial or viral infection
• Biomedical model-Criticism


  • Promotes specialisation
  • Treatment based on expensive and invasive procedures, often with secondary effects
  • Does not suggest health promotion or the active role of the person during treatment
  • Often the person is seen as his/her own disease
• The Bio-psycho-social Model


  The onset and treatment of illness is determined by the "bio" (biological factor), "psycho" (psychological factors) and "social" (social factor). "bio", "psycho" and "social" do not act independently but in conjunction with each other.
• The Bio-psycho-social Model- Impact on healthcare and treatment

  People are not seen as machines, but they actively participate in the intervention process=seen as active unit not a mere recipient of care. The co-operation between health professional-person is relevant during treatment/ intervention.
• World Health Organisation (WHO) Concept of Health

  "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Revolutionary shift expanding the "Bio-medical model". Bio-medical model: Health is the absence of disease or disability. Bio-medical model is still the dominant mode of thinking in medicine. The WHO definition expands health into new areas concerned with positive well-being, mental health, and prevention.
• WHO Concept of Health-criticism

  • Complete health is unachievable
  • Ageing with chronic illnesses has become the norm
  • How do you measure health
• Health has multiple meanings and is an evolving and changing concept
• Determinants of Health


  • Income and social status
  • Employment and working conditions
  • Education and literacy
  • Childhood experiences
  • Physical environments
  • Social supports and coping skills
  • Health behaviours
  • Access to health and services
  • Biology and genetic endowment
  • Gender
  • Culture
  • Race/Racism
• Commercial Determinants of Health

  Strategies and approaches used by the private sector to promote products and choices that are detrimental to health
• Social determinants of health


  Relate to an individual's place in society, such as income, education, or employment. Experiences of discrimination, racism and historical trauma are important social determinants of health for certain groups such as Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ and Black Canadians.
• Health Inequalities


  Differences in health status of individuals and groups. These differences can be due to your genes and the choices you make, but the social determinants of health can also have an important influence on health.
• Health Inequity


  Health inequalities that are unfair or unjust and modifiable
• Health Equity


  The absence of unfair systems and policies that cause health inequalities. Health equity seeks to reduce inequalities and to increase access to opportunities and conditions conducive to health for all.
• The main difference between equality and equity is that equality gives everyone the same resources where as equity is helping those who need the most help so that everyone is getting the same experience
• Poor countries tend to have worse health outcomes compared to rich countries
• Approximately 1 in 6 children live in household experiencing poverty in Canada. Low income affects the capacity to live in quality housing, having access to healthy foods, and is associated with unfavourable physical and mental health outcomes as children age. Indigenous children are at greater risk of living in low-income families.
• Over 30 people per 100,000 die each year from unintentional injury in Canada. Lower income and education levels are associated with higher rates of death from unintentional injury. Death by unintentional injury increases with age with a dramatic increase among seniors 80 years or older. Men have higher rates of mortality by unintentional injury than women.
• While the infant mortality rate in Canada has improved over the past few decades, this improvement is not equally distributed. Infant mortality is strongly associated with socioeconomic status in Canada. Canadians living in the most materially deprived areas have rates of infant mortality 1.6x higher than the rates of those living in the least deprived areas. Many infant deaths are preventable. Addressing inequalities in education, income, and material deprivation may improve conditions that influence the health of both the mother-to-be and the infant.
• The range and depth of health inequalities in Canada constitute a call to action across all levels and areas of society. Achieving health equity is a shared responsibility that requires creating and sustaining healthy living and working conditions and environments.
• Report recommendations


  • Intervene across the life course
  • Intervene on both proximal (ex: health behaviours) and distal (ex; environment) determinants of health and health equity
  • Deploy a combination of targeted interventions and universal policies/interventions
• Health inequities exist within New Brunswick and are affecting people at every level of the social strata, not just more vulnerable. As province, we cannot allow there to go unchecked. Action is therefore urgently needed in New Brunswick and Canada as a whole to better understand and address the connections between the social, physical and economic environments and health behaviours, prioritizing upstream interventions.
• Commercial determinants of health are private sectors activities that may impact a wide range of health outcomes including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular health, cancer.
• Definition of Wellness


  An active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence. Wellness is a conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential. Wellness is multidimensional and holistic, encompassing "lifestyle," mental and spiritual well-being, and the environment. Wellness is positive and affirming.
• The SIX Dimensions of Wellness

  • Physical Wellness
  • Social Wellness
  • Emotional Wellness
  • Occupational Wellness
  • Intellectual Wellness
  • Spiritual Wellness
• Physical Wellness


  The physical dimension recognized the need for physical activity, healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption and not using tobacco and drugs. The goal is to build physical strength, flexibility and endurance while taking safety precautions, including medical self-care and appropriate use of a medical system.
• Physical wellness tenets


  • It is better to consume foods and beverages that enhance good health rather than those which impair it
  • It is better to be physically fit than out of shape
• Social Wellness


  The social dimension encourages contributing to one's environment and community, fostering mutual respect and cooperation among the individuals. Social wellness emphasized the interdependence between others and nature.
• Social wellness tenets


  • It is better to contribute to the common welfare of our community than to think only of ourselves
  • It is better to live in harmony with others and our environment than to live in conflict with them
• Wellness benefits of social media use

  • Enhance connection, increase self-esteem, improve a sense of belonging, peer support, decrease the sense of stigmatization, deepen mutual friendships, space for rewarding social interactions, humor on social media also reduced stress
• Wellness drawbacks of social media use

  • Stress, depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem, body image dissatisfaction, negatively affects mood, increase the risk of addiction and cyberbullying involvement, pressure to compare oneself to other, increased sadness and isolation, decreased subjective well-being and life satisfaction
• Emotional Wellness


  The emotional dimension recognized awareness and acceptance of one's feeling including feelings about oneself and life. Emotional wellness includes the capacity to manage one's feelings including realistic assessment of limitations, development of autonomy, and ability to cope effectively with stress. Awareness of and accepting a wide range of feelings in yourself and others is essential to wellness.
• Emotional wellness tenets


  • It is better to be aware of and accept our feeling than to deny them
  • It is better to be optimistic in our approach to life than pessimistic
• Occupational Wellness


  The occupational dimension recognizes personal satisfaction and enrichment in one's life through work. The occupationally well individual contributes their unique skills/talents to work that is meaningful and rewarding. The occupational is integrated into a total "lifestyle" that is rewarding.