Assessment Description 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: Health-illness Continuum and its Relevance to Patient Care Health-illness Continuum and its Relevance to Patient Care 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 healthcare 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 behaviours support or detract from your health and well-being. Explain where you currently fal
Health-illness Continuum and its Relevance to Patient Care
The health of an individual is a dynamic state, changing from time to time, depending on various factors. These factors include the environment, physical activity, genetics, and social and health-seeking behaviour of an individual. These factors create a health-illness continuum that has five stages. The first stage is high-level well-being. The subsequent stages are good health, normal health, disease, and demise. The spectrum assumes that the health condition of an individual differs from time to time (Tomczyk et al., 2022). These variabilities mean that human beings have to modify their behaviour depending on their health status at a particular time. Positive behaviours improve health outcomes, while negative behaviours worsen poor health conditions. Possession of proper and adequate knowledge of the health-illness continuum improves the quality of care.
Importance of Health-Illness Continuum in Patient Care
The continuum of health and illness is a critical concept that enhances patient health and quality of care in inpatient treatment. This concept views health and illness as a spectrum, with high levels of health and well-being at one end and high levels of disease and poor health, including mortality, at the other. This measure is used to assess patients’ health status and determine a strategy for treatment. It is crucial to add the component of well-being. The parameters of good health are subjective (Jorgensen & Rendtorff, 2022). It depends on the viewpoint of an individual. This viewpoint is important in healthcare provision. It enables healthcare providers to treat illness and deal with other concerns not immediately related to the illness. The treatment suited for each patient, depending on their needs, greatly improves their well-being.
Promoting Value and Dignity
Healthcare providers, especially nurses, are an integral part of the healthcare system. They interact with patients who are at different stages of the health-illness continuum. Interaction with these patients at different stages helps them learn different health-seeking behaviours and the underlying factors. Healthcare providers have extensive scientific knowledge that is supported by evidence. They can use their knowledge to provide mindful, noble, logical, and comprehensive care to the general public. This form of care will keep up or reestablish ideal well-being and health (Fuseini et al., 2022). Understanding the health-illness continuum permits healthcare providers to take up their special job and a wide variety of capabilities that incorporate multidisciplinary, coordinated effort, initiative, correspondence, moral, independent direction, promotion, and instructing. Furthermore, it assists them with creating a protected space in all training settings as they utilize proficient standards like the idea of progress hypothesis, standards of equity and fairness, and care processes.
Understanding the health-illness continuum helps healthcare providers promote value and dignity by seeing every individual as multifaceted and extraordinary while having widespread necessities. Furthermore, the healthcare provider understands that each patient has their own social, cultural, and religious practices. Therefore, every patient is urged to dominate formative errands that assist them in endeavouring towards self-realization, with the healthcare provider assisting the patient with recovering and attaining a health status that aligns with their perception of good health and well-being.
Reflection on the Overall Personal State of Health
From a conventional perspective, I am generally in good health. I am youthful, physically fit, and emotionally and mentally stable, and I do not experience the ill effects of having any constant or intense comorbidities. I come from a family with no history of endocrine or cardiovascular diseases, no history of mental illness, and no history of familial cancers. I am continuously seeking to maintain my good health status. I try to maintain eating a balanced diet and engage in moderate physical exercises. I also read books and participate in mind-stimulating exercises to maintain my mental health. I also update my knowledge of good health by reading books about common diseases and ways of improving well-being. The books address well-being concerns and keep away from infirmity.
Options and Resources to Move Toward Wellness
To move towards wellness, I will maintain eating a balanced diet. A balanced diet provides all the nutrients an individual needs in adequate proportions (Pagliai et al., 2021). It will prevent obesity and cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. Another way I can move towards wellness is by continuing with physical activity. I can join a lo
Assessment Description 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: Health-illness Continuum and its Relevance to Patient Care Health-illness Continuum and its Relevance to Patient Care 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 healthcare 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 behaviours support or detract from your health and well-being. Explain where you currently fal
Relation of the Continuum to Value, Dignity, and Promotion of Human Flourishing
Value, dignity, and – in general – human flourishing have been deemed by the researchers as factors that contribute to the state of prosperity in individuals and society thriving in general. Human flourishing consists of many elements, “certainly including mental and physical health, but also encompassing happiness and life satisfaction, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships” (VanderWeele, 2017, p. 8148). Dignity is described as a quality “closely connected to esteem and status such that patients can live in accordance with their standards and values” (Xiao, Chow, Liu, & Chan, 2019, p. 1791). Therefore, for healthcare to be able to contribute to these spheres, it should concentrate on treating patients and not illnesses.
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Since the Health-Illness continuum approach is concentrated on the mental and physical state of patients, it can be used as an effective way to promote the value, dignity, and flourishing of patients. The concept of wellness that lies in the basis of the health-illness continuum “considers all facets of an individual including physical, psychological, cultural, spiritual and intellectual” (LeMone, 2017, p. 17). Therefore, by accepting this method, healthcare providers make a significant contribution to the well-being of individuals and society.
Looking at a patient as a person with mental needs and respecting their values allows doctors not only to maintain or restore their health but also to respect their dignity and prioritize their flourishing. It is especially significant in treating people with chronic diseases or in need of palliative care. For other patients, this approach shown by doctors and nurses might bring change to their everyday lives and teach valuable lessons on how to improve their well-being beyond healthcare situations.
Reflection on Personal State of Health and the Health-Illness Continuum
My health state – if evaluated from the traditional point of view – is relatively satisfactory in general. I am young, moderately in shape, and do not suffer from having any chronic or acute diseases. I get seasonal colds twice a year and come from a family without cardiovascular or cancer history. However, over the last few years, I have been experiencing fatigue, tiredness, bad mood, and low energy. Quite often, I find myself in states of anxiety and boredom that prevent me from being productive. Therefore, I would put myself in a state of false wellness that manifests itself in the absence of illness symptoms.
The reasons for the sensations that I am experiencing might originate in my lifestyle choices and habits. I often skip breakfast, indulge on fast food or cafeteria sandwiches, drink more than 3 cups of coffee a day, and at least five energy drinks a week to stay awake during classes. After coming home, I take long naps, which results in my inability to go to bed at a reasonable time as otherwise, I do not have time to do my homework and socialize. Since most of the time I feel tired and sleepy, I find it difficult to concentrate on things I am doing. Moreover, I find it hard to find time for regular workouts.
The realization that my lifestyle is not as productive as I would want makes me stressed and anxious. It feels that I miss out on many opportunities and could have done better if I were more disciplined and responsible. However, learning about the health-illness continuum made me think of measures that could be implemented to improve my well-being. Therefore, I came up with several solutions that would potentially help me.