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Promoting Good Health
Section A
Defining health is a very difficult thing to do as it means different things to different
people. Health is a term that is usually to express aspects of well-being. Health is
derived from an old English term ‘hael’ meaning ‘whole’ suggest that health deals
with the whole person, the entirely of their well-being. Definitions of health include:
“A state of complete physical, psychological and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease and infirmity” (world health organisation 1948)
“A satisfactory adjustment of the individual to the environment” (royal college of
general practitioners)
For me health is viewed positively and negatively depending on the circumstances
positive health for me is free from any disease and or illness. Illness is a state of
poor health. It is considered a synonym for disease
They are three main concepts of health, the negative positive and holistic concepts.
In today’s society health is viewed positively or negatively. The positive meaning of
health can be achieving mental stability, health that is viewed negative means
absence of disease and illness.
There are many ways people view their health as they don’t know what the real
cause is until the find out. Ways in which people view their health:
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Body as machine this has a strong links to the medical model of health in
that it see illness as a matter of biological fact and scientific medicine as the
natural type of treatment for any illness.
Inequality of access the perspective is rooted in a reliance on modern
medicine to cure illness but is less accepting than body as machine because
of awareness that there are great inequalities of access to treatment
Health promotions account this model emphasis the important of a healthy
lifestyle and personal responsibility: for example if you are overweight is a
simply a matter of your own choice of diet and lack of exercise that has led to
this.
God’s power in this model health is viewed as a part of spirituality i.e. a
feature of righteous living in spiritual wholeness
Body under siege the view perceives the world to be a see of challenges to
their health, be they communicable diseases such as colds and flu, stress at
work and so on
Cultural critique of medicine the view sees science and the medical model
on which health care is based as oppressive to certain group.
Robust individualism a view best summarised as ‘it’s my life and I will do
with it as I choose’
Will power this model considers that we all have a moral responsibility to
remain healthy this relies on strong will power to manage our health For me
will power is to have the will to look after myself and have the courage to fight
for the illness
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I believe that you should take responsibility toward your own health so I agree with
Rodgers from Katz and Perberdy 1997. They summarised the way a person takes
views their health and how they take responsibility for their health people’s nation on
what is being healthy differs according to their experience knowledge values and
expectations of their health. If a person does not care about their health the only
thing health professions can do is to support and advice them on how important
being health is.
For people to remain healthy the government has got information on health living
with sub heading Inc maintain healthy weight, fitness and much more also there
have been campaigns regarding health. There are many different health organisation
that cover different parts of health or overall health E.g. NHS.
The Government has a major part to play in promoting health, as illustrated through
the many policy initiatives such as:
1. The national health strategy which was published in 1992 it stated aim was to
ensure that ‘action is taken whether through the NHS or otherwise, to improve
and protect health’.
2. Another policy the government published was the NHS plan 2000. The NHS
plan is a government policy paper that outlines the modernisation of the NHS
this includes tackling the health inequalities and supporting investment such
as 500 million expansion of ‘sure start’ projects and
3. Through to the most recent, choosing health (2004). Choosing health was a
public health white paper which the government published in November 2004;
this was for the benefit of the public and their health including everybody. The
strategy set out in the document had three underpinning principles:
The first principle was informed choice which had two important qualifications
which where to protect children and do not allow one person’s choice to
adversely affect another example: passive smoking the second principle was
personalisation: support tailored to the needs of individuals and finally working
together: real progress depends on effective partnerships across
communities.
Health can also be seen as physical, Intellectual, emotional and social which is also
known can also be known as the P.I.E.S. The P.I.E.S is important factors that can
tell someone about their health and define what health is and the types of health
problem they’ve got also a person fitness can be tested by their speed skill stamina
and strength.
Physical health is the mechanical ability of the body. Physical health is good if the
body is functioning properly and if it is fit and healthy from any kind of disease.
People may choose to look after their physical health by eating a balanced diet and
taken regular exercise.
intellectual health is when achieving peace to the mind or where religious beliefs and
practise have to be met with health needs however it could also be able to make
decisions, learn, think and judge situations, The things we do in our everyday life
maintain our intellectual health. All the things we watch, read and listen to have an
effect on the health of our minds. We can affect our memory and thinking skills by
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making sure that we keep active whilst thinking, leaning and judging we could do this
by doing a number of activities such as puzzles like Sudoku.
Emotional health is the ability to recognise emotions and express them appropriately
it also has the ability to cope with potentially damaging aspect. We need to be able
to understand our feelings and to be aware of when we are feeling happy, angry and
afraid. The things that happen around us directly affect how we feel. Emotional
health is very closely linked with mental health. It is important to be able to cope with
such things as stress, depression, anxiety and tension. In all life stages, our
emotional health can be challenged in many ways. We can view our emotion by the
way we react to things
Social health is to maintain and make relationships with others. Socialising and
sharing values, social health also depends on the way we make relations with other
people. The way we think and feel is often influenced by our friends and family, we
learn and believe different things, our aspects of life change as we grow.
Well-being is another important factor of having a healthy lifestyle. Well-being meant
to be the concept combining an individual’s health, their quality of life, and their
satisfaction. If you say to a teacher, ‘how are you?’ the chances are that the reply will
be, ‘very well, thank you’ this means that they are feeling well in them self.
Human beings, all have a number of needs, which they need to stay healthy. Most
people manage to meet their own needs through work, home life and leisure
pursuits. There are 4 main needs which human beings need to consider for a healthy
lifestyle, if human beings consider the below needs they would have a healthy
lifestyle and a easy life, which will help them take or consider anything
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The need to give and receive attention: human beings are social creatures
designed to live in groups and interact with each other forming intimate
relationships and social connections
The need to take care of the body includes the need to provide the body
with healthy food to enable it to prevent diseases grow new cells and repair
excising cells
The need for simulation and challenge this is a constant throughout life, as
humans we need to exercise if intellectual functions are insufficiently
simulated by external stimuli, such as new information
The need for meaning and purpose people need to have goals to aim for, in
order to feel a sense of achievement the sense of achievement is linked to the
feeling of value and self worth, particularly if these goals involve helping other
people
Also keeping in mind the above factors there are many other factors that can have
an impact on health such as lifestyle choices environment issues social factors
financial factors and physical factors.
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Section B
The two factors that I am going to use are lifestyle choices and social factors; I am
going to explain the affect they have on health and well being.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is simply a product of attitudes towards our health. Lifestyle choices can
affect a person’s health in different ways. A person health depends on their way of
living, a perfect lifestyle may include balance exercise, eat drink sensibly, practise
safe sex and don’t smoke. However for individuals motivation, opportunity and
support all mater. People who are disabled or suffer from mental ill health stretched
for money, out of work, poorly qualified or who live in an area of crime are likely to
experience less control over their lives than others. Also, different groups suggest
that people in lower social economic, socially excluded or black and minority ethnic
group may see health as being further beyond their individual control over their lives
than others health. However are sometimes inconsistent or uncoordinated and out of
step with the way people actually live their lives. The complex nature of the
environment and its impact on health choices is also important. Lifestyle choices are
often a complex mix of issues including diet and nutrition, smoking and substance
use. Some people’s lifestyle could be different to where they live or how the brought
up. Many people make their own lifestyle choices as they don’t care about what
people say. Lifestyle is a very important factor toward having a good health. Some
people’s lifestyle may be based on their culture, some people lifestyle may be based
on the way they parents live they may get influenced. Lifestyle is generally perceived
to be outside cultural norms. lifestyle can also be the identification of someone for
example hippies, Goths and punks.
Diet and nutrition
In the early parts of the 20th century the focus of the national food policy that to
secure enough food as opposed to improve the diet of the population.
Malnourishment in terms of insufficient fat and protein in diet, Malnourishment in the
form of consumption that now characterises the major dietary problems of the
developed world. Nutrition has recently become a high profile health issue
particularly in where obesity has risen up, if trends of obesity continue it would be a
major concern if not already to the public as contributing substantially to:
Type to diabetes, Coronary heart disease, Hypertension, Depression, Cancers, High
blood pressure and Strokes. As well as its role in tackling obesity diet also has a
major part to play in managing the current trends in cancers. However the dietary
message remains the same for years
 Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
 Eat plenty of cereal foods
 Eat red meats and processed foods in moderation
 Avoid high doses of vitamin supplements
 Avoid high salted foods
 Drink alcohol in moderation
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The message remains straight forward but there is still a 4% of young people aged
4-18 still eat no vegetables at all and an average 10 year old will eat his or her own
weight in chips over 9 month period, a reason why people fail to act is widely known
information is that healthy eating message carry too many negative and constricting
associations. The public view healthy eating as being part of a boring lifestyle, in
2004 white paper ‘alcohol and fast food are portrayed as offering
excitement escape and instant gratification. Public health
issues such as obesity, in simplistic ways; nutrition inequalities
mirror those of other issues for example:
 Poorer groups eat less quantity of fresh fruit and
vegetables
 Dental caries are often common in children from lower
socio economic groups due to higher level of sweet
consumption.
Shopping patterns show that less income households have
limited cash flow and storage. Stores that remain in
deprived areas are frequently high cost and often offer
poorer quality produce. The message to eat the
recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day will succeed in
reversing the steady increase in the numbers of people who are overweight and
obese
People tend not to eat the right portions of food which can make people overweight
however some people don’t think that by eating the right amount of food could affect
a person’s health
A balanced diet is made up by the 7 essential compounds
The Pyramid recommends eating
a variety of foods in order to get
the nutrients and calories needed
for healthy weight maintenance.
The pyramid also tells us how
many portions of what type of
food is recommended and
portions
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Smoking
Smoking has a very important link with health. Smoking is the only factor and
important modifiable risk factor for CHD in young and old. Lifetime non smokers are
less likely to have CHD and 30% less likely to have a stroke. By the mid 30’s 50%of
young people from higher social class have stooped opposed to only 25% from the
lowest income groups. Facts:
 Tobacco smoking causes most lung cancers
 It is implicated in a wide range of other cancers including those of the nose
and throat but also cervical cancer
 Overall, about one third of cancer deaths can be attributed to smoking.
 Smoking also contributes to CHD and stroke rates
Some campaigners can compound health inequalities where the government
responded and released a white paper ‘smoking kills’ in 1998. Smoking kills but
people addicted to smoking can’t help but the government tries the best. People who
are addicts are most likely to waste all their money on smoking rather than buying
appropriate foods which could help with their health. The government has now
launched slogan and posters on cigarette boxes, the
main one that bee’s on most cigarette boxes is smoking
kills.
Substance use
In the recent years there has been a growing public concern on the level of illegal
drug use amongst young people. Most of the use is cannabis or amphetamine, much
of this use is clearly not very regular. Drug use rises to be most widespread in the
16-25 range before gradually declining. The cost of society of drug misuse is well
documented. The half amount money for drugs is approximately to be raised by
acquisitive crime, burglary, shoplifting and muggings. In 1995 the government
introduced the first national drug strategy ‘tackling drugs together’ which had 3 key
aims:
 Increase the safety of communities from drug related crime
 Reduce the acceptability of drugs to young people
 Reduce the health risk and damage related to drug misuse
Also they help other organisations such as drug action team and drug reference
counterparts to plan their drug strategies. Partnerships in these groups were taken
by agencies like the police force probation service prisoners and the NHS.
All the above factors relate to promoting health and well being as they are the main
reason of how the health changes if we have a poor lifestyle we could have a very
poor health, as listed above our health can change through a number of reasons.
One main reason a person health become very poor is due to the way they eat,
depending on their diet and nutrition. If they do not have the right nutrient at a regular
bases their health becomes very bad.
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Social factors
Social class has long been used as the method of measuring and monitoring health
inequalities however, it has been accepted more recently that these groupings are
no longer representative of the population, the unemployed are amongst the most
socially disadvantaged and as a consequence experience significant in equalities in
health. For a small minority, unemployment actually leads to an improvement in
health but the vast majority being unemployed leads to significantly poorer health.
Unemployment has higher levels of depression, suicide and self harm and
significantly increased risk of morbidity and mortality across all causes. Adverse
effects associated with unemployment include:
 Increased smoking at the onset of unemployment
 Increase alcohol especially in young men
 More weight gain for those who are unemployed
 Reduced physical activity and exercise
 Use of illicit drugs in the young who are without wok
 Increased sexual risk taking among young unemployed young men
 Reduced psychological well-being with a greater incidence of self harm
depression and anxiety
Social class is defied on what type of job you got there are 8 analytic classes:
1. Higher managerial and professional occupations
1.1. large employers and higher managerial occupations-chief executives
1.2. Higher professional occupations – doctors, layers
2. Lower managerial and professional occupations – teachers, customer service
3. Intermediate occupations-bank workers
4. Small employers and own account workers-painters decorators
5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations-builders joiners
6. Semi-routine occupations- unskilled labouring jobs
7. Routine occupations –assembly line workers
8. Never worked and long term unemployment
Race is another factor to affect life expectancy particularly because of the
differences in cultural this may bring black and minority ethnic groups have higher
risks of mortality from a range of disease such as diabetes, liver cancer stroke and
heart diseases however establishing the cause of these variations has proved
difficult. Medical interventions have tended to concentrate on cultural practises but
this does not acknowledge the compounding factors of poverty and low employment
levels. However we choose to classify the different social strata. Where income
differences remain great as in this country, health inequality will persist for example:
 Children in the lowest social class are five times more likely to die from an
accident than choose in the top social class
 Infant mortality rate are highest amongst the lower social group who are either
unemployed or have routine occupations the reasons of this due to stress
associated with poverty; poorer diets; lower standard of living.
Social factors is another way a person’s health can be affected, the way a person
lives depends how good or bad their health is, if there health is bad they might have
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social difficulties such as unemployment and the above factors. A person can get ill
due to the way they live, their social circumstances and their social lifestyle
Section c
Medical model and social model
Medical model a view of illness that see’s the patient as on passive recipient of
treatment it also often focuses on dealing with the symptoms rather than seeing the
root cause of the problem
Example: a doctor will give a treatment using injections/medicine
The medical model believes:
 health is the absence of disease
 health services are together to treat the sick
 specially trained medical services are valued highly
 doctors and other qualified experts diagnose and agree treatment
 focuses on dealing with the symptoms and not the cause
 Based on how the disease arise emphasising risk factors
 Scientific methodology is highly valued in research
Medical model can also be defined as an imprecise and widely used term. The
characteristics of the medical model are rarely specified. The term sometimes refers
to the framework of assumptions underpinning the relationship between doctor and
patient
The biomedical model comes from the medical model originally. The medical model
is used by health care professionals especially the medical science. It is the cure
doctors focus on as it shows what is normal and abnormal in how the body works
most effective with short term or an acute illness because the cause is identified and
it is cured by treatment
Examples of how medical models treat illness
 Operations: Operations are important as sometimes it concerns life and death
and operations are done in emergencies also sometimes to get of rid of the
whole problem from the starting
 Vacancies: vacancies are given so that no problem starts. Vacancies are
normally given to children so as they grow they don’t get know illness.
 Medicines such as tablets are given so the pain goes, or you don’t feel any
pain.
Social model this emphasis that to improve health as it is necessary to address the
origin of ill-health which make it more prevalent in some groups than others
Example: the council may change a person environment and change the way their
live
 Social model of health that have contributed most to decline in mortality
 Emphasis to improve health it is necessary to address the origins of ill health
 Public health measures based on the social model of health
 Strong links to lay models of health because it recognises that people often
have firmly held views.
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In underlying philosophy health differs between individuals and social groups
are the results of a complex mixture of behaviour structural material and
cultural factors which.
For and against the social and medical model
Social model focuses on root of the problem so it stops the problem from reoccurring
whereas the medical model only gives treatment but also the doctors know what is
better for you. Over the years the Social model has contributed to the decline of
mortality rate and also by helping to stop the problem from getting worse. Medical
model is least effective with chronic illness but it also saves lives through treatment
cure, transplants etc also the Medical model helps you to adjust the situation and
focuses on the symptoms not the cause which also can be a problem as it could be
painful by repeatedly getting the same problem.
Medical model is generally a focus to cure rather than prevention however social
model finds the problem and deals with it. I think that the social model is as
important as the medical model even though the medical model gives treatment the
social model finds the root cause of the problem, without the social model you would
not know what cause the problem except from the symptoms which you would have
diagnosed and they could have come back.
The medical model tries and reduces or removes the problem but the social model
tries and change the environment on the other hand some people might say that the
medical model is important and the social model is not needed as people only need
medical treatment rather that moving houses or living in a different environment.
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Section D
Definition of illness and disease
Illness
 a subjective sensation of being unwell
 illness is used to identify that a condition exists that causes a person harm
and pain
 Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered a synonym
for disease
Illness is the term give to the effects that a person feels when they have a disease.
They may complain that they are unwell. The people with chicken pox will want to
scratch because of their spots itch, in Folens GSCE in health and social care book it
says, ‘that the people suffering can only explain the problem, the symptoms cannot
always be seen by others’.
There are many different types of illness: Diarrhoea, Aches and pains, Headache,
Flu, Diabetes and Blood pressure
In Collins health and social care A2 it say that research in the area oh health
psychological suggest that there are five questions we ask ourselves when we think
we become ill are
 What might be wrong with us?
 What has caused me to feel like this?
 How long will this last?
 How will it affect me?
 Can it be cured?
Some people might think about these questions and say I am ill I’m dealing OK with
it whereas other people will say I need to see my doctor, I need medicine. The way a
person thinks
Disease
 Illness resulting from infection with specific symptoms and signs
 Disease is derived from the middle English term ‘desaise’ meaning discomfort
 A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that
impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may
be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused
by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases.
In the in Folens GSCE in health and social care book, ‘disease has been described
as an observable physical change in the body’s structure or something that causes a
change in the way the body functions’. This means that you can often see the effects
and the symptoms of the disease. If someone has chicken pox you can see the
spots, if they have a cold then you will hear them sneeze as well as seen there nose
red. These are known as symptoms and draw you attention too the disease.
Preventing disease is a way of helping us to stay healthy for longer. Some disease is
not always visible and can be difficult to detect, its possible for people to have a
disease without be aware of it.
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Disease like tuberculosis may not show any symptoms for the first six months for this
reason health profession have a different way to detect and prevent any kind of
disease. Health profession can take blood test and x-rays to help detect the illness or
the disease; these show the changes that are caused by the disease. Some disease
are so dangerous that they need to find a method to prevent them occurring.
Vacation programmes have been running in the U.k for over 50 years. People who
have a risk of catching certain illness can have medical help to prevent them the
vaccine is usually given by injection.
Some people disease can be passed down the family life by harmful or nonfunctioning disease. There are many physical problems and diseases that can be
inherited genetically such as heart conditions, eye conditions, haemophilia, high
cholesterol and many more. Diseases can be treated by several of people such as a
local health practise, local hospital. Specialist national centre as well as the person
them self
The effect of illness and disease some illnesses have short term physical effects
whilst others are long term more serious effects which could take a long term to
recover from. Illness and disease can be linked to our diet lack of iron in our diet can
cause tiredness. During a lifetime we can experience different types of disease and
illness. Illness and disease can affect a person’s quality of life. This depends on how
serious the illness or disease is. When the illness or disease exceeds the patient’s
endurance, it may start to affect their lives severely. If the person is young it will
affect them in school or in higher education, which may result in severe disruption,
whereas in the working population, employment becomes impossible. When ill for
many people social life and family life becomes restricted and sometimes severely
strained. If the condition is very bad, the person may be housebound or confined to a
bed for months or years.
Today, more than ever, personal health responsibility or taking charge of one's own
health is an essential step in disease prevention as well as protocols for healing and
recovery from disease. Personal health responsibility involves active participation in
one's own health and healing plan through education and lifestyle changes. And
although the concept of personal health responsibility seems simple, it's often
overlooked when people are diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and seeking a
quick fix Because of its importance to good health.
The difference between illness and disease is that when someone has an illness
they feel unwell some illnesses have the same symptoms so the doctor cannot
diagnose the problem whereas when someone has a disease the symptoms show
and the doctor can diagnose the symptoms quickly.
To have a disease there must be an illness of a kind because without an illness there
cannot be there. However some people think that they have an illness and they
repeat going to doctors but whereas they don’t, they just think that they are ill but
they are not.
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Bibliography
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AS level OCR Health and social care Neil Moonie
Collins Health and social care A2
Folens GSCE in health and social care
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease (definition of disease)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illness (definition of illness)
http://info.wirral.nhs.uk/glossary (definition of well-being)
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-medicalmodel.html (medical modal)