Benchmark - Human Experience Across the Health-Illness Continuum

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Benchmark - Human Experience Across the Health-Illness Continuum

One of the primary roles of a nurse is to provide care aimed at ensuring the health and wellbeing of patients. The concept of health-illness continuum was first proposed in 1972 by John Travis and described wellbeing as not just the absence of physical illness but also encompasses aspects of mental and emotional health (Dempster, Howell, & McCorry, 2015). The continuum aimed at demonstrating that the standard approach, which is pegged on the assumption that absence of signs and symptoms of disease translates to wellbeing, was insufficient. For nurses to effectively provide care, it is vital for them to understand and appreciate human experience across the human-illness continuum.

Importance of the Health-Illness Continuum

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as the state of complete health, especially physical, mental and social wellbeing and not just the absence of illness (WHO, 2019). Understanding the conceptions of both health and illness aids providers of healthcare in not only examining the physical wellbeing or the presence of any symptoms of a disease, but also exploring further into the mental and emotional issues which might affect the wellbeing of a patient (Bezner, 2015). Since illness may or may not be related to the disease state of an individual, the health-illness continuum is vital in examining all the aspects of a person’s life before the provision of health care.

Considering the health and illness continuum (see Figure 1 below), the human experience is vital to a complete understanding of the health status of an individual. Notably, according to Bezner (2015), health is a human experience and not necessarily a determination of disease status via technical diagnoses. In the human experience comes the ultimate life experience of vitality. Patients might feel unwell without necessarily presenting any signs and symptoms (Joe, Hall, Chi, Thompson, & Demiris, 2018). Understanding the various experiences that they have had in the past can help in understanding their health or illness. Human experience can help distinguish between healthy persons who are full of energy and happiness and those who are drained, empty, and unable to find any kind of motivation. The continuum of health and illness helps to use the human experience to ensure patients’ wellbeing by going beyond their physical state and examining their psychological and social experiences.

Figure 1: Graphical Representation of the health-illness continuum. Source: https://www.slideshare.net/arifasudheer/health-illness-continuum-80612835

Reflection on My Overall State of Health

The overall state of health and wellbeing is affected positively and negatively by various behaviours and activities. In my case, I consider my health as promoted by multiple behaviours such as my eating habits. In specific, I have always been a vegetarian, and I have a distaste for food which is rich in calories. Additionally, I dedicate at least one hour every day to engage in physical activities which improve my physical health. Moreover, participation in constructive conversations with my peers is vital in promoting my health and wellbeing. However, some of the behaviour such as stress over the uncertainty of life affect my mental wellbeing. In specific, when I have to overthink about the things that I cannot control, then my emotions are changed, and my wellbeing is adversely affected.

Based on the health-illness continuum, my personal health falls within the high-level wellness part of the wellness paradigm. In specific, I do not have any defined physical, mental, and social health issues which affect my health. Additionally, I am aware of the various aspects and practices which can affect my health and wellbeing. For instance, I am well informed that the intake of binge foods can be detrimental to my health. Such knowledge and awareness have arisen from the education I have gained on aspects of health and illness.

Options and Resources Available Towards Wellness

To ensure that I move towards wellness on the health-illness continuum, I have various options and resources available. One of the options I have is increasingly continuing to lead a healthy lifestyle. In specific, I ought to continue consuming health foods which do not have many calories (Dempster, Howell, & McCorry, 2015). To even ensure optimal health, I will need to consult a nutritionist and seek advice on the various food combinations which are healthy. The other option is to continue engaging in physical activity which will not only boost my body/physical fitness but also ensure my physical health. To optimize my mental health, I will need to avoid stressful situations and seek the services of a psychologist if I feel depressed. Using such options will be vital in ensuring that I move towards optimal wellness in the health-illness continuum.

Using information from the internet would assist me understand the various ways in which I can lead a healthy life. In specific, some of the websites provide vital information as to the nature of foods that I should take and the ways that can ensure an optimal health status (Joe et al., 2018). Additionally, understanding how I can assess the presence of any mental or physical issues which affect my wellbeing can be possible via the internet. The other resource which can help me to maintain my mental health is seeking therapy from the psychologist in the hospital in my community. Seeking mental health services will be vital in addressing the mental health aspect of the health-illness continuum. The resources and options available will help me in not only maintaining good health and wellbeing but also preventing any future health issues.