Define concepts
Health
Defining the word and meaning of health can be both complex and challenging. The concept that health is a state of being without disease or illness does not encompass all the variables that make up an individual’s “health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (1948).
Well-being:
Health can be seen as a person’s overall wellbeing. We can determine a person’s health by their physical condition, lab results, and their ability to perform or undergo certain tests/medical exams. It is from a bedside assessment or a person’s health and history that we can create a …show more content…
Even if a person is unable to communicate with us their history or current health problems, their blood can provide a profound amount of information regarding their overall health.
Quality of life:
By assessing how a person interacts in their environment, their level of education, and their access to resources; nurses can tailor their approach of care based on each unique individual’s needs. Florence Nightingale, known as the founder of modern nursing made it her life’s mission to balance the correlation to patient care and a patient’s environment. Her theory on patient safety and care stemmed from the unsanitary conditions in which she treated injured war victims. It was her belief that as a nurse we could change a patient’s prognosis and outcome by changing their external environment; thus improving their internal environment (Nursing Theory, 2013a). Nightingale …show more content…
“Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment” (Walter, 1999). The main philosophy of holistic care is to place an emphasizes on a person’s mind, body, and spirit all working together in harmony to create a person’s overall wellbeing.
Explore Meaning Based on your expanded understanding of these four concepts, discuss how they impact our approach to holistically assessing individual, family, and population health in health