How does learning about your health and wellness influence your health behavior?

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Course Text: Coreil, J. (Ed.). (2010). Social and behavioral foundations of public health (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chapter 1, “Why Study Social and Behavioral Factors in Public Health?”

The first chapter in the text describes the importance of studying culture and behavior. It provides a historical perspective of the field of behavioral and social sciences and sets the stage for the course with its overarching framework, the social ecology of health model. This chapter also explores the levels of social influence on health issues.

Chapter 2, “Historical Perspectives on Population and Disease”

This chapter delves deeper into the history of health, from the perspectives of disease and the cultural evolution. It also touches upon the health problems that generally occur at different stages of life.

Chapter 5, “Health and Illness Behavior”

Chapter 5 reviews the levels of prevention covered in the first course in the program (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and lays the groundwork for the course by reviewing the relationship between health and illness behavior.

Chapter 7, “Social Reactions to Disease” (pp. 134–136)
In this section of Chapter 7, you will study the concepts of medicalization and hygienization with respect to disease behavior.

Chapter 8, “Comparative Health Cultures” (pp. 145–154)

The authors introduce the concepts of ethnomedicine as well as the various “sectors” of medicine in this section of Chapter 8. The authors also explore cultural models of illness.

Article: Healthy People. (2010). Healthy People 2020: The Road Ahead! Retrieved from http://healthypeople.gov/2020/

You will become familiar with the Healthy People 2020 Campaign during this course. Healthy People 2020 is a national effort designed to solve unequal and unjust health treatment of populations. This website will be used for the In the News assignment as well as many other assignments in the course.

Article: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2009). Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America. Retrieved from http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2009/rwjf40483

This article presents several carefully coined recommendations to build healthier society. The recommendations are based on research and statistics on the health status of adults and children.

Optional Resources

Media

Documentary: Moore, M. (Director). (2007). Sicko [Motion picture]. United States: Dog Eat Dog Films.

You may want to rent Sicko. It provides a fascinating and controversial view of the health care system in the United States today. The documentary also compares the American health care system with other nations, illustrating the differences in reactions to disease based on the health care system of other countries.

Readings

Course Text: Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health

Chapter 10, “Reproductive Health”
Chapter 11, “Adolescent Health”
Chapter 12, “Public Health and Aging”
Article: Lytle, L. A., & Fulkerson, J. A. (2002). Assessing the dietary environment: Examples from school-based nutrition interventions. Public Health Nutrition, 5(6a), 893–899.

Article: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health. (2010). Science news. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/index.shtml
Article: World Health Organization. (2008). The World Health Report 2008: Primary health care now more than ever. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/whr/2008/whr08_en.pdf

Websites

National Institutes of Health
http://www.nih.gov/

World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/en/
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BEHAVORIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN HEALTHCARE (DISCUSSION BOARD DUE BY THURSDAY)

Discussion – Week 1

The Social Ecology of Health Model

The social ecology of health model provides a strong framework for comprehending the impact culture and behavior has on health. This Discussion explores the model with respect to the Healthy People assigned focus area assigned to you during the In the News assignment.

To prepare for this Discussion:

· Review the social ecology of health model by completing the following interactive exercise. It will allow you to deepen your understanding of the model by focusing on each element in the model’s hierarchy.
http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/HLTH/2110/04/mm/hlth2110_seh_model.html
· Reflect on the five hierarchical levels of influence associated with the social ecology of health model (intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and society).
· Consider the upstream (primary and secondary prevention) and downstream (tertiary prevention) approaches to the model with your assigned Healthy People assigned focus area. (See the In the News assignment for more information about the assignment of topic areas.)

By Day 4, post a comprehensive response to the following about your Healthy People assigned focus area

· How might you react to being diagnosed with the disease/condition associated with your Healthy People assigned focus area? What are some of the cultural biases to being diagnosed with this disease?
· Describe one primary and one secondary method of preventing the health problem (i.e., upstream methods). Which would you most likely choose?
· Describe two biomedical methods (tertiary prevention) of dealing with the health problem (i.e., downstream methods).
· In your own words, explain how the social ecology of health model could be used to address this health issue. Give at least one example applying terms from the model.
· Be sure to cite your supporting documentation appropriately in correct APA format.

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PERSONAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS CLASS ( DUE BY THURSDAY)

Defining Health and Wellness

If you enter the terms “health and wellness” in an online search engine, numerous definitions will appear. One of the most widely used definitions of health and wellness was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 and is still used today. WHO defines health and wellness as “…a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease” (WHO, 2012). There may be varying perspectives that define health and wellness and those different perspectives or definitions can influence health behavior in multiple ways.

For this Discussion, you explore varying definitions of health and wellness and think about how they might influence your own health behavior as you create or refine your own definition.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review Chapter 1 in Health: The basics, 10th edition. Consider the definitions of health and wellness and how it may assist you in defining your personal health and wellness.
Review the article “The development and initial validation of a new measure of lay definitions of health: The Wellness Beliefs Scale.” Think about your definitions of health and wellness.
Review the website http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/default.aspx and explore “About Healthy People” and “2020 Topics and Objectives” tabs. Also explore “In This Section” topics. Reflect on the definition of health and wellness, and how that may be generalized to the nation at large.
Review the multimedia piece “Dimensions of Health Wheel.” Select the different Dimensions of Health available and pay particular attention to the varying perspectives on health and wellness, and factors that may influence individual definitions.
Select two people from the multimedia piece “Dimensions of Health Wheel.” Consider their definitions of health and wellness.
Select two people in your community (i.e. family members, friends, co-workers) and ask the following questions:
What is your definition of health?
What do you believe are characteristics of a healthy person?

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 4, post yourdefinition of health and wellness. Then, explain the similarities and differences between your definitions of health and wellness and those of the two people you interviewed and the two people you chose from the “Dimensions of Health Wheel” multimedia piece. Finally, explain how these definitions might influence individual health behavior.

**********************WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT DUE BY SUNDAY***************************

Application: Personal Health Assessment

If you were asked, “How healthy are you?”, how might you answer? Do you exercise? Do you keep a healthy body weight and eat less saturated fat? Your health and wellness is often based on a variety of factors and numbers. For example, body weight, body fat percentage, cholesterol, and depression scales all numerically calculate elements of your health. While these are not the only factors that determine health and wellness, they can illustrate health risks such as contracting a chronic illness like heart disease or diabetes, and can collectively provide you with a comprehensive assessment of your health and wellness. How does learning about your health and wellness influence your health behavior? Do you tend to work out more and eat healthier foods if you have high cholesterol, or do you dismiss the numbers and continue to engage in unhealthy behaviors?

For this assignment, you take the Personal Health Assessment and consider how your personal health and wellness influences your health behavior.

To prepare for this Application Assignment:

Review the article “Health, well-being and wellness: An anthropological eco-systematic approach.” Consider the factors that influence health behavior.

Complete the following assessment in Health: The basics, 10th edition:

Chapter 1 Personal Health Assessment “How Healthy Are You?”
Pay particular attention to your predisposition to health conditions and behaviors that reinforce or change health behavior.

Application Assignment (2–3 pages)

Summarize any insights you gained as a result of taking the Personal Health Assessment.
If you are predisposed to any chronic illnesses or disease, explain how this might affect your health behavior, and explain why.
If you are not predisposed to any conditions, explain how you might reinforce or change your health behavior to prevent the contraction of chronic illness and disease.
Describe any enabling (e.g. cultural, environmental, social) factors which may influence your health behavior and explain why.

Support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct.

Submit your Application Assignment by Day 7.

***RESOURCES****8

Donatelle, R. J. (2013). Health: The basics, 10th edition. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.
Chapter 1, “Accessing Your Health”
Bishop, F., & Yardley, L. (2010). The development and initial validation of a new measure of lay definitions of health: The wellness beliefs scale. Psychology & Health, 25(3), 271–287.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Kirsten, T.G.J.C., Van der Walt, H.J.L., & Viljoen, C.T. (2009). Health, well-being and wellness: An anthropological eco-systematic approach. Health SA Gesondheid, 14(1), 1–7.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

HealthyPeople.gov (2012). Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/default.aspx

Media
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Personal Health and Wellness: Dimensions of Health Wheel [Multimedia], Baltimore, MD: Author. Dimensions of Health: Week 1