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
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
The World Health Organization describes health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. Health is determined by factors such as environment, education, genetics, and interpersonal relationships (GCU, 2018). This paper seeks to discuss the health-illness continuum and its relevance to patient care and describe a perspective of my current state of health with respect to the wellness spectrum.
Health-Illness Importance to Health and Patient Care
The Health-Illness Continuum, proposed by Ryan and Travis, illustrates health and illness along a continuum. The continuum is a diagrammatic representation with high-level health and wellness at the extreme right and high levels of illness and poor health and premature death at the extreme left (Ali et al., 2018). The middle of the continuum is regarded as the neutral zone since there is neither health nor illness. High levels of wellness are achieved through three steps, which are awareness, education, and growth (Ali et al., 2018). Signs, symptoms, and disability manifest in the left direction that leads to premature death.
Nurses must consider the health-illness continuum when caring for patients to enable them to move along the continuum towards high health levels. For instance, when they understand that health is achieved when a patient is effectively managed, the nurse will strive to provide quality, comprehensive care (GCU, 2018). Besides, when nurses understand that poor health is caused by trauma and infections, they take interventions to promote patient safety (Svalastog et al., 2017). According to the continuum, persons moving towards high-level wellness are usually optimistic and have a positive view regardless of their existing health condition (Ali et al., 2018). On the other hand, persons in the left direction towards premature death are generally pessimistic and have negative perceptions of their health condition.
Relation of Human-Illness Continuum to Value, Dignity, and Promotion of Human Flourishing
The health-illness continuum enables me as a nurse to promote the value and dignity of people and groups and to serve individuals in a manner that promotes human flourishing. The continuum has made me understand that an individual passes through various states of health and illness. These states range from good health and usually fluctuate to disability and death across the human lifespan (Svalastog et al., 2017). I have learned that health is a recurring change process, and individuals must constantly adapt to these changes to maintain good health and general well-being.
As a health provider, I will apply knowledge from the health-illness continuum to help individuals positively respond and adapt to changes in their health and well-being. For instance, I can help a patient diagnosed with a chronic disease function effectively by training them on the appropriate adaptation strategies and enabling them to flourish (Taylor, Lynn & Bartlett, 2018). High wellness levels can only be achieved when a patient’s mental and emotional aspects are incorporated into the treatment plan. Consequently, all health aspects must be included through holistic care to promote their general well-being (Taylor et al., 2018). I can uphold individuals’ values and dignity by supporting them psychologically, emotionally, and socially. Furthermore, the health education and promotion I provide to individuals, and the community should aim at empowering them to make informed health decisions and support them to flourish.
Reflection on Personal State of Health and the Health Illness Continuum
I would describe my state of health as unremarkable and moving towards the right side of the health-illness continuum. I have no physical or psychological symptoms and no history of a chronic illness. My BMI is currently at 22.8, which is within the normal weight range. There is a family history of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and colorectal cancer, which puts me at risk of developing similar conditions. Personal behaviors that support good health and well-being include taking three balanced meals a day with a variety of fruits and taking lots of water, more than the recommended eight glasses a day.
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I attend annual health checkups and take advantage of free community screenings to have my blood pressure and blood sugar screened. I also ensure I have adequate rest with at least 6 hours of sleep a day and attend Yoga classes for my mental health. These personal behaviors make me move towards a high level of health and wellness on the right side of the continuum. Nevertheless, some behaviors detract me from achieving a high level of health, including lack of adequate physical exercises. My physical exercises entail mostly walking and swimming on weekends. I feel that these are not adequate exercises, and I need to increase the intensity and duration. Besides, I take alcohol about 3-4 beers about four days a week, which could put me at risk of hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Lack of adequate exercise and alcohol consumption detracts me from reaching high levels of health.
Resources Supporting Wellness
Resources that would significantly help me move toward wellness on the health-illness continuum include GCU’s Health and Wellness clinic. The GCU clinic provides top-notch healthcare services to its students and staff, including wellness promotion, TB skin tests, weight management, health education, and smoking cessation. Clients benefit from various wellness clinic services, including physical exams, treatment of illnesses, and holistic and individualized care. Therefore, I can benefit from the GCU wellness clinic services by having routine physical exams and screening services. I can also seek counseling on cessation of alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, and preventing chronic illnesses. Lastly, I can use the GCU library to access health articles on the prevention of diseases and achieving higher levels of health.
Conclusion
The health-illness continuum is a diagrammatic representation representing a high level of health and wellness on the right and poor health and premature death on the left. The continuum is important in patient care since health providers can understand that people move along the continuum from poor health toward health when they are successfully treated. On the other hand, they move along the continuum from good to poor health due to factors such as infection or trauma. The continuum can be used to promote human value, dignity, and flourishing by promoting the mental and social well-being of individuals and providing health education that empowers them to make informed health decisions.
References
Ali, T., Hussain, M., Afzal, M., Khan, W. A., Hur, T., Amin, M. B., Kim, D., Kang, B. H., & Lee, S. (2018). Clinically harmonized wellness concepts model for health and wellness services. IEEE Access, 6, 26660-26674. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2834391
Grand Canyon University (Ed). (2018). Health assessment: Foundations for effective practice. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs434vn/health-assessment-foundations-for-effective-practice/v1.1/
Svalastog, A. L., Donev, D., Jahren Kristoffersen, N., & Gajović, S. (2017). Concepts and definitions of health and health-related values in the knowledge landscapes of the digital society. Croatian medical journal, 58(6), 431–435. https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2017.58.431
Taylor, C., Lynn, P., & Bartlett, J. (2018). Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Person-Centered Care. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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.
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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.
Attachments
NRS-434VN
-R-IndividualHealthHistoryandExaminationAssignment-Student.docxNRS-434VN-R-Functional-Health-Pattern-A
Benchmark – Human Experience Across the Health-Illness Continuum – Rubric
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Health-Illness Importance to Health and Patient Care (C5.1)
A continuum refers to something that gradually changes, devoid of any clear points. Health is a variable factor that changes from time to time to adjust with the internal and external variables in an individual’s life (Meyer, 2019). Illness is an emotional state associated with the loss of health. The World Health Organization defined health as a state of complete wellbeing physically, mentally, and socially and not just the absence of disease or illness. The purpose of this paper is to describe the health-illness continuum and its relevance to patient care as well as explain my current state of health with regard to the wellness spectrum.
The Health-Illness Continuum
The health-illness continuum is a diagrammatic model of the wellness of an individual. John W. Travis proposed the health-illness continuum based on the assumption that an individual is not only regarded as healthy based on the lack of disease but also based on their mental wellness and emotional health (Rovesti et al., 2018). The continuum demonstrates the change in health whereby a person undergoes a range of health and illness states ranging from optimum health to death. Good health fluctuates throughout a person’s life. The model has two arrows facing different directions. The right arrow heads to a high level of wellness, indicating attainment of optimum health, while the left arrow heads to illness, disability, and premature death (Rovesti et al., 2018). At the center of the continuum is the neutral point with good health and no signs of disease or illness.
Nurses should take into account the health-illness continuum when providing patient care to establish which direction along the continuum the patient is currently. After identifying the patient’s position in the continuum, the nurse can help them go towards optimal health if they are in the direction towards premature death. If a patient is in the right direction along the continuum, the nurse can help the patient get to higher levels of wellness and to attain the desired optimal health (Dineen-Griffin et al., 2019). Furthermore, understanding the health-illness continuum helps the nurse determine the healthcare interventions to apply for a patient, including the health education to help them move towards optimal health.
How Understanding the Health-Illness Continuum Enables Me, To Better Promote the Value and Dignity of Individuals
The health-illness continuum has made me understand that for individuals to attain a high level of wellness; they need to go through three key stages: awareness, education, and growth. I have also learned that people’s attitude towards their health affects their health outcomes. For instance, if a person has a positive attitude, they progress towards the right side of the continuum, thus achieving good health. However, if a person has a negative attitude, they move to the left side towards premature death (Swan et al., 2019). Understanding the continuum enables me to determine a patient’s state of health and position on the continuum and thus take the necessary interventions to help them attain better health. Besides, it enables me to identify the risk factors that worsen a patient’s health, whether environmental or physiological (Meyer, 2019). As a result, I take appropriate interventions to improve the patient’s health and dignity. Furthermore, I also help patients prevent illness by providing awareness about diseases and risk factors and educating them on disease prevention and health promotion, thus promoting their value and dignity.
The overall State of Health
I have a good overall state of health as evidenced by lack of disease, infirmity, or disability. Besides, I have no history of chronic illnesses or frequent infections and no history of hospitalization. My hospital visits are primarily due to minor ailments and injuries such as flu, headaches, and minor cuts. A reflection on my general health and wellbeing revealed that I have lifestyle behaviors that support good health and wellbeing. Healthy behaviors include taking daily servings of fruits and vegetables and engaging in physical exercises about one and a half hours per day, at least five days a week. In addition, I attend annual check-ups to monitor my health and help identify early signs of disease and thus begin early treatment.
Unhealthy lifestyle practices detract from optimal health, including tobacco smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and risky sexual behavior. Tobacco and alcohol consumption puts me at risk of chronic illnesses such as COPD, hypertension, diabetes, and fatty liver disease (Dineen-Griffin et al., 2019). Risky sexual behaviors put me at risk of STDs. I currently fall in the right direction of the health-illness continuum since I am aware of risk factors for diseases. Besides, I have taken measures to educate myself on lifestyle modifications to better my health and reduce the risk of diseases and disabilities.
Available Options and Resources to Help Move toward Wellness on the Health-Illness Spectrum
Available options and resources that can help me move towards higher levels of wellness include community wellness centers, sports facilities, Yoga classes, and nicotine anonymous groups. In the community wellness centers, I can access health professionals to guide me in adopting healthier lifestyle interventions. In addition, I can access preventative services to help in disease prevention and promote health and wellbeing. Sports facilities include gyms, swimming pools, and sports fields, where I can engage in various physical exercises to promote physical fitness and prevent diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles (Dineen-Griffin et al., 2019). Yoga classes will be essential to promote higher levels of mental wellness. Lastly, I can join nicotine anonymous groups in our community, which will support me in the journey towards smoking cessation.
Conclusion
The health-illness continuum demonstrates the process of change in health whereby a person undergoes a range of health and illness states ranging from optimum health to death. The continuum diagram illustrates that an individual either moves towards optimal health or premature death. It can guide nurses in identifying the position where a patient lies in the continuum and the interventions needed to promote optimal health.
References
Dineen-Griffin, S., Garcia-Cardenas, V., Williams, K., & Benrimoj, S. I. (2019). Helping patients help themselves: A systematic review of self-management support strategies in primary health care practice. PloS one, 14(8), e0220116. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220116
Meyer, M. A. (2019). Mapping the patient journey across the continuum: lessons learned from one patient’s experience. Journal of Patient Experience, 6(2), 103-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373518783763
Rovesti, M., Fioranelli, M., Petrelli, P., Satolli, F., Roccia, M. G., Gianfaldoni, S., Tchernev, G., Wollina, U., Lotti, J., Feliciani, C., & Lotti, T. (2018). Health and Illness in History, Science and Society. Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 6(1), 163–165. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2018.056
Swan, B. A., Haas, S., & Jessie, A. T. (2019). Care coordination: roles of registered nurses across the care continuum. Nursing Economics, 37(6), 317-323.