Health Perception Socio-environmental Factors

Question: Is health merely the absence of a disease, or is it more complex and comprehensive? Identify two (2) factors that can influence a person[s view on health and discuss why these are relevant to nursing practice and core provision. Answer: Health is the state of fitness of an individual in all life's aspects which include physical, psychological and public wellbeing but is not only lack of an illness or disability. Hence this suggests that health is viewed in different angles thus is a daily resource whereby physical capabilities, social and personal attributes should be in line with an individual's point of comfort for them to be deemed healthy. For a person to be considered healthy, they should be in a position to deal with changes in their social circles, environment, and economy. Also, a healthy individual should have the ability to recognize, and understanding ambitions that are designed to satisfy their needs (Harris, Nagy Vardaxis, 2014). Health is said to be complex because one can suffer from a chronic disease and at the same time be healthy. Integration of a one's functional health and lifestyle is one of the main issues that promote health. In this view if one is suffering from a terminal illness, they can put an effort in dealing with their lifestyles by exercising; getting enough sleep and eating healthy thus can be termed to be healthy (Marsden, Wilkins, Gill Dieppe, 2014). Socio-environmental factors can lead one be unhealthy even in the absence of a disease. For instance, when a person is faced with challenging tasks at their place of work or their homes, they tend to be slow at coping with the set rules and deadlines set hence affecting their mental fitness. Health to that effect is not the lack of an illness but is the capacity of dealing with one's challenges in reaction to the fluctuations in their settings, social circle, and personality. Some factors affect how people view health, and one of the factors is social conditions such as cultural influences. Culture is the daily belief that people believe in about a particular situation in their society. For instance, individuals in the industrialized countries view health as the social, physical, and environmental wellbeing of a person. When one is having difficulties in coping with the challenges at their workplace or homes, they are considered not healthy. Physical ailment and disabilities in these cultures are seen as unhealthy conditions likewise when one's economic status is below the average and cannot adequately meet his or her needs comfortably; then they are deemed not healthy (Sorensen et al.,2012). On the contrary in other countries that are not westernized, the people's view of health is only the physical aspect. In these cultures only when one is suffering from a disease or has a disability is when they are considered not to be healthy. Some cultural beliefs have been integrated into religious beliefs that are corrupted by their faith about what health entails. This group of people views all aspects affecting an individual as healthy and therefore do not take caution in the event of an illness. When one of their own has a disability or falls sick due to a disease, they believe that it is nature and that it is normal according to the fate of the individual. They believe that everybody is bound to face their destiny as planned by supernatural powers hence health to them does not have much meaning (Berkman, Sheridan, Donahue, Halpern Crotty, 2011).They believe that when a person is facing an economic crisis is that they have not put their best foot forward in making sure they are stable and able to meet their needs. Also, they believe that when one is experiencing problems in their bodies because of an occurrence of a disease, it is a punishment from the gods for their wrong doings. The second factor influencing how people view health is their behavior which includes their lifestyle, health principles or pressure (Bostock Steptoe, 2012). Individuals who lead a stress-free life because they are fortunate enough to meet their needs comfortably view the presence of stress as a health problem. Therefore when such an individual is faced with a stressful situation, they are perceived to be experiencing health challenges and are advised to seek attention. It is important to note that stress can be as a result of many issues. For instance, when the economic ability of an individual reduces from what they are used to, they eventually get stressed up hence affecting their mental health. Lifestyle is a factor that also influences how people view health but is closely related to the stress factor. Individuals who lead successful lifestyles are less likely to experience stress therefore to them it is not a health problem. However, when their lifestyles are altered in any way towards the negative, they are faced with a lifetime crisis that leads them to develop stress which results to be a health condition (Coutler, 2012). On the other hand, the people who are used to cheap lifestyles are subjected to high-stress levels; therefore, it is unlikely for them to view it as a health condition. In that light stress is a factor that is considered by a particular group of people regarding their economic status as health. Culture as a factor influencing how people view health is significant to the nursing practice and primary provision in the sense that nurses can deal with different people from various cultural beliefs. Nursing practice and core requirement are characterized activities such as instituting, upholding and refining medical care to patients regarding their culture and their professionalism (Kitson, Marshall, Bassett, Zeitz, 2013). In that case, when a patient view on health is influenced by culture, a nurse should be in a position to offer a lasting solution to their patient. For instance, if an individual believes that health is physical, a nurse should treat and provide medical care about the disability presented or the illness at hand. Stress is the second factor influencing how people view health and therefore a nursing practice, and the central provision should be aimed at dealing with people whose view of health is based on lifestyle behaviors. A nurse, in this case, should be aware and familiar with different lifestyles that people lead so that they can help their patients (Morgan Yonder 2012). For example, when a person expresses a high profiled status, they tend to view anything that would curtail that as stress which in return affects their mental stability. In such a case a nurse should offer professional advice to their patient to recover health. References Berkman, N. D., Sheridan, S. L., Donahue, K. E., Halpern, D. J., Crotty, K. (2011). Low health literacy and health outcomes: an updated systematic review. Annals of internal medicine, 155(2), 97-107. Bostock, S., Steptoe, A. (2012). Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study. Bmj, 344, e1602. Coutler, A. (2012).Patient engagement-what works?. The Journal of ambulatory care management, 35(2), 80-89. Harris, P., Nagy, S., Vardaxis, N. (2014). Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions-Australian New Zealand Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences. Kitson, A., Marshall, A., Bassett, K., Zeitz, K. (2013). What are the core elements of patient-centered care? A narrative review and synthesis of the literature from health policy, medicine and nursing. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(1), 4-15. Marsden, D., Wilkins, J., Gill, C., Dieppe, P. (2014). Galen and wellbeing: Whole Person Care. International Journal of Whole Person Care, 1(2). Morgan, S., Yonder, L. H. (2012). A concept analysis of person-centered care. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 30(1), 6-15. Sorensen, K., Van den Broucke, S., Fullam, J., Doyle, G., Pelikan, J., Slonska, Z., Brand, H. (2012). Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and model. BMC public health, 12(1), 80.