Foundations of Nursing

Welcome
Health and Illness
Health Illness
What is health ???
“A state of being well and
using every power the
individual possesses to the
fullest extend.”
-Florence
Nightingale
HEALTH
“Health is a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well being and not
merely the absence of any disease or
infirmity”.
-WHO
“Health is the ability to maintain
normal roles.”
-Talcott Parsons
“Health and illness are human

experiences. The presence of illness
does not preclude health, nor does
optimal health preclude illness.”
- ANA social policy statement
(2010)
Wellness
is a state of well being. Basic aspects of

wellness include
selfresponsibility;
an ultimate goal;
a dynamic growing
process;
dailydecision making in the areas of nutrition,

preventive health care & emotional health;
& the whole being of the individual.
Dimensions of Wellness
Environmen
t
Emotional Occupational
WELLNESS
Social Intellectual
Spiritual
Environmental
The ability to promote health measures that
improve the standard of living and quality of
life in the community. This includes
influences such as food, water, and air.
Social
The ability to interact successfully with
people and within the environment of which
each person is a part.
Emotional
The ability to manage stress and to express

emotions appropriately.
Physical.
The ability to carry out daily tasks, achieve fitness

(e.g., pulmonary, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal),
maintain adequate nutrition and proper body fat,
avoid abusing drugs and alcohol or using tobacco
products, and generally practice positive lifestyle
habits
Spiritual.
The belief in some force (nature, science,
religion, or a higher power) that serves to
unite human beings and provide meaning and
purpose to life. It includes a person’s own
morals, values, and ethics.
Intellectual.
The ability to learn and use information
effectively for personal, family, and career
development. Intellectual wellness involves
striving for continued growth and learning to
deal with new challenges effectively.
Occupational
The ability to achieve a balance between work
and leisure time.
Illness
Illnessis highly personal state
in which the person’s physical,
emotional, intellectual, social,
developmental, or spiritual
functioning is thought to be
diminished.
Illnessis highly subjective;

only the individual person can
say he or she is ill.
Not synonymous with disease and may or
may not be related with disease.
An individual could have a disease and not
feel ill.
A person can feel ill and yet have no
discernable disease.
Classification
Acute Illness:
is characterized by symptoms of relatively short
duration. The symptoms often appear abruptly and
subside quickly and may or may not require
intervention.
Eg: appendicitis: Serious

acute illness which require surgical intervention.
Cold subside without any medical intervention
Classification
Chronic Illness:
Is one that lasts for an extended period, usually 6
months or longer, and often for person’s life. It
usually have slow onset and often have periods
of remission, when the symptoms disappear and
exacerbation, when symptoms reappear.
Eg: arthritis, heart and lung disease,

diabetes mellitus.
Disease
An alteration in body functions
resulting in a reduction of capacities
/ shortening of normal life span.
The health illness continuum is a graphic
illustration of a well being, concept, first
proposed by John W. Travis, in 1972.
It describes how well being is more than
simply an absence of illness, but also
incorporates the individual’s mental &
emotional health.
Travis believed that the standard approach to
medicines which assumes that a person is
well , when there are no signs or symptoms
of disease, is insufficient.
From a high level of health a
person’s condition can move
through good health, normal
health, poor health, and
extremely poor health,
eventually death.
Movement of arrows to the right (towards
high level of wellness) indicates an increase
in level of health and well being. It is
achieved in 3 steps.
Awareness
Education.
Growth .
Movement of arrows to the left (towards
premature death) indicates a progressively
decreasing state of health. It is achieved in 3
steps.
Signs.
Symptoms.
Disability.
Most important is the direction the
individual is facing on the pathway.
If it is towards high level of health, a
person has genuinely optimistic or
positive outlook despite his / her health
status.
If it is towards premature death, a person
has a genuinely pessimistic or negative
outlook about his / her health status.
Comparing treatment with
wellness paradigm
This model also illustrate the
relationship of the treatment paradigm
to the wellness paradigm
The treatment paradigm [medications,
surgery, psychotherapy etc.] can bring an
individual up to the neutral point, where the
symptoms of the disease have been
alleviated.
Eg: a hypertensive client who only takes his
medications without making any other
lifestyle changes.
The wellness paradigm can be utilized at
any point on the paradigm and it helps us
to move towards higher levels of wellness.
Eg: as hypertensive client not only takes
medications; but also stops smoking, looses
weight, starts an exercise programme etc.
Ifwe are ill, treatment is
important, but do not stop at
the neutral point. Use the
wellness paradigm to move
towards high level wellness.
Thank you……

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Welcome

Health and Illness

“Health and illness are human

is a state of well being. Basic aspects of

dailydecision making in the areas of nutrition,

The ability to manage stress and to express

The ability to carry out daily tasks, achieve fitness

Illnessis highly subjective;

Eg: appendicitis: Serious

Eg: arthritis, heart and lung disease,

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