For Florida State
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:
- 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.
- 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.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assesses the following competency:
RN-BSN
5.1. Understand the human experience across the health-illness continuum.
The Health-Illness Continuum and Its Relevance to Patient Care
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The Health-Illness Continuum and Its Relevance to Patient Care
Introduction
The overall health of an individual falls on a continuum, ranging from excellent health to severe symptoms such as headache, pain, depression, and others. Good health is the most important treasure one can have (Selekman et al., 2019). Wealth and everything else will come as long as the individual is in good health. Health care is primarily designed to help people achieve a high level of wellness. Health workers treat sick people to help them recover and return to their normal health stature. Individuals should then take personal responsibility to achieve a high level of wellness (Selekman et al., 2019). To be able to provide proper advice and health recommendations, health workers should have an in-depth understanding of the health-illness continuum (Cheung et al., 2019). In that regard, this paper discusses the health-illness continuum model and its relevance in healthcare.
The Importance of Health-Illness Continuum to Health and Healthcare
The state of health of any person goes through a process of change over time. People age over time leading to changes in health status. Additionally, certain lifestyles also cause changes to individual health. Health-illness continuum is a model that illustrates the process of change in which an individual goes through various states of health and illness throughout life (Cheung et al., 2019). The experiences individuals have in the health continuum range from a high level of wellness to normal health, deteriorated health, and death. Health-illness continuum provides health workers with a critical understanding of individual health. The model identifies the position of individuals on the health-illness scale so that appropriate health measures and decisions can be made (Cheung et al., 2019). People can move either towards a high level of wellness or towards premature death. The health continuum model shows the direction of individuals in that regard.
How Healthcare Providers Can Use the Health-Illness Continuum Model to Improve Patients’ Health
The perspective of the health-illness continuum has been very critical in helping healthcare providers care for their patients. The model is widely used by physicians, nurses, and other care providers to provide individualized patient care (Cheung et al., 2019). Understanding the position of a patient on the health-illness continuum scale allows the care provider to know exactly the approach to give the patient. Also, understanding which direction on the scale the patient is headed allows care providers to give proper recommendations. Patient education has become a basic healthcare practice. The health continuum model is also used by care providers to develop educational programs to change their unhealthy behaviors (Cheung et al., 2019). For instance, patients can be educated on the importance of physical activity and a healthy diet based on the individual’s position on the health-illness continuum scale.
Reflection On the Overall State of Health
I would place myself in the middle (normal health) on the health-illness continuum scale. Therefore, I would say that my state of health is normal. I do not have any chronic disease and my internal feeling is that I am healthy both physically and mentally. Despite my normal health status, I have some behaviors that I believe could be negatively impacting my health status. For instance, sedentary life and physical inactivity can cause a bad influence (Fonte et al., 2020). These lifestyles happen due to busy schedules especially because of work. However, there are other positive behaviors. For example, can manage stress and often get relieved as soon as possible.
Another thing that needs behavior change is poor sleep. Inadequate sleep is another behavior that could have detrimental health impacts on my life. I often sleep for about 3 or 4 hours. Also, I have poor sleep patterns due to shifts that keep changing between days and nights. These behaviors are determinants of health (Fonte et al., 2020). Proper management and behavior change is needed regarding these behaviors to improve health.
Options and Resources Available to Help in Achieving Wellness
There are resources available for everyone to improve their health and wellbeing. Healthcare facilities are the most basic resources to make use of. Healthcare workers are professionals trained to improve the health and wellness of people (Selekman et al., 2019). Therefore, seeking medical attention or advice is very important. People are encouraged to go for medical checkups to allow early diagnoses and further medical advice. Nutritionists can help with advice regarding proper sleep patterns. Another resource is the gymnasium to encourage physical activity and remain fit. For reading and mental health, books, the internet, and the public library are good resources (Selekman et al., 2019). The reading materials can help gain some insights that can help improve both physical and mental health.
Conclusion
Good health is the most precious gift one can have in this life. The overall health of an individual falls on a continuum, ranging from excellent health to severe symptoms such as headache, pain, depression, and others. The health-illness continuum is important to determine whether or not one is doing well to achieve a high level of wellness. People can move either towards a high level of wellness or towards premature death.
References
Cheung, S., Spaeth-Rublee, B., Shalev, D., Li, M., Docherty, M., Levenson, J., & Pincus, H. A. (2019). A model to improve behavioral health integration into serious illness care. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 58(3), 503-514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.05.017
Fonte, C., Silva, I., Vilhena, E., & Keyes, C. L. (2020). The portuguese adaptation of the mental health continuum-short form for adult population. Community mental health journal, 56(2), 368-375.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00484-8
Selekman, J., Shannon, R. A., & Yonkaitis. (2019). School nursing: A comprehensive text. F.A. Davis Company.