Introduction
A person’s health condition is not constant and continually transforming. People alternate between being healthy and ill, then returning to being healthy. The five phases of the health-disease continuum are high levels of well-being, excellent health, average well-being, ailment, and mortality. The continuum assumes that a person’s health will constantly change throughout their lifespan. Healthcare professionals can define adequate care by considering a patient’s condition and health state using their knowledge of the health-illness spectrum. The continuum helps nurses track people’s health status and determine the level of care they need to offer to meet care goals. This paper will explain the importance of wellness-illness sequence to patient treatment and offer a viewpoint on an individual’s current state of health.
Human Experience across Health-illness Continuum
The wellness-illness spectrum visually represents psychological and emotional wellness in humans. The health degree is displayed on the right side of the health continuum graph. In contrast, the stages of ailment are displayed on the left. An individual may not exhibit any physical signs of a medical condition (Kishan, 2020). However, their constant complaints of feeling unwell and their depression, anxiety, and unhappiness can impact their well-being. This viewpoint is essential in the fields of nursing and medical management. For instance, the perspective enables nursing practitioners to address a wide range of concerns not explicitly related to managing sickness. Furthermore, it offers a chance for a hands-on assessment of people suffering from chronic illnesses.
Importance of Health-Illness Continuum to Health and Patient Care
As a medical practitioner, the knowledge of the wellness-illness spectrum helps me to promote the values and integrity of people or groups. Working in the provision of healthcare services has given me a unique perspective on the wellness-illness spectrum because I am exposed to a consistent health trend and see patients at distinct steps of their sickness. As a result, people have varied experiences with their illnesses, and nurses should respect patients’ dignity and values and place their flourishing at the top when providing care (Swanson et al., 2019). It is crucial for healthcare professionals to get to know their clients and let them determine how much they want to have their doctors engage in their health and well-being. When patients are seen as actual individuals, respect and dignity flow naturally.
Reflection on the Personal State of Health
I constantly strive for good health, considering many aspects of my health, particularly well-being, and disease. As a fully trained and knowledgeable medical practitioner, I always enhance my physical and mental well-being with a dedication to preventing various illnesses and disorders. My present state of health is excellent through the measurements of the wellness-illness continuum. I have developed traits and conduct that assist me in moving towards an outstanding level of well-being along the continuum by using my professional understanding of health and illness. Due to my busy schedule, I rarely get to practice, which interfering with my efforts to reduce body weight. Human well-being or sicknesses are influenced by physical activity, a good diet, and daily routines (Gazaway et al., 2019). Some healthy aspects and patterns I have acquired include maintaining an optimistic outlook on well-being and embracing healthy eating practices. Additionally, I consume reduced-calorie meals that lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, do frequent workouts, and I am inclined to be a vegetarian. The daily routine has helped me head to the right side of the sequence due to losing some body weight.
Resources Supporting Wellness
I have various options and materials to help me progress toward wellness on the wellness-illness continuum. Hospitals and staff may guide ways to improve fitness and aid diagnoses such as chronic illness and its causes (Kishan, 2020). The continuous development of a person’s profession puts the medical provider in a place to employ the identical knowledge for them and apply the same recommendations into action. Additionally, gradual development assist nurses in providing tested substantial proof practice therapies to clients. Public knowledge sources, including medical portals operated by federal agencies and other groups, provide helpful information about prevalent diseases. The internet is a helpful resource for gathering data on health issues and ways to enhance fitness. Furthermore, social support networks such as relatives can encourage wellness by providing guidance and creating favorable conditions.
Conclusion
The wellbeing-illness sequence is an effective instrument for comprehending a person’s changing state of health. The knowledge of the spectrum helps medical personnel to have the ability to handle and treat patients and keep them fit. The paradigm enables healthcare professionals to deliver tailored care that considers every patient’s experiences while also fostering a sense of connection, safety, and love among the patients. The wellbeing-illness spectrum aids in motivating sick people to take an active role in their treatment so that they can move from attaining normal body function to obtaining quality health and high levels of well-being. Furthermore, it aids in developing a connection between the doctor and the ill person, which is crucial for health promotion.
References
Gazaway, S., Stewart, M., & Schumacher, A. (2019). Integrating palliative care into the chronic illness continuum: a conceptual model for minority populations. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 6, 1078–1086. Web.
Kishan, P. (2020). Yoga and spirituality in mental health: Illness to wellness. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 42(5), 411–420. Web.
Swanson, C., Thompson, A., Valentz, R., Doerner, L., & Jezek, K. (2019). Theory of Nursing for the Whole Person: A distinctly scriptural framework. Journal of Christian Nursing, 36(4), 222–227. Web.