Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness Discussion Essay

Introduction

Based on the various definitions of health, define health and explain if you agree with one definition more than the other? Why?

Post your initial response by Wednesday at midnight. Respond to one student by Sunday at midnight.  Both responses should be a minimum of 150 words, scholarly written, APA formatted, and referenced.  A minimum of 2 references are required (other than your text) for both posts.  Refer to the Grading Rubric for Online Discussion in the Course Resource section.

I think most of us agree that although the WHO definition has been widely accepted we define health differently today because we recognize the need for the individual to define what health means to them.  As an example, a Diabetic who maintains their BS at 140 or below may identify as being healthy.  Good points, thank you.

Discussion

Health is a broad term that can have many definitions or viewpoints considering the context of which it is being used. Health can be seen as a physical and mental state of well-being with environmental and sociological elements that can play a role in a persons’ health. Also, consideration must be given for how each person views health and what it means to them. Defining health can have an impact on health care professionals and society in how it is socially developed and impacts policy development and implementation in the health care system (Leonardi, 2018). The definition of health can impact a persons behavior and their ability to make decisions regarding their health (Leonardi, 2018).  Some scholars consider questions of health by asking if health is a complete state of well-being? or is health a resilience to disease and injury and recovery from a specific disease? (Oleribe et al. 2018). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a complete state of mental, physical and social well-being (Leonardi, 2018). Scholars contend that it is near impossible for any one person to have complete mental, physical and social well-being (Leonardi, 2018). It doesn’t appear that any one definition of health is the complete answer and the determinants of health is all always changing. Health is a complex state of being with many contributing factors.

References

Leonardi, F. (2018). The definition of health: Towards new perspectives. International Journal of Health Services, 48 (4), 735-748. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731418782653  less1 UnreadUnread1 ViewsViews

Oleribe, O., Ukwedeh, O., Burstow, N., Gomaa, A., Sonderup, M., Cook, N., Waked, I., Spearman, W., & Taylor-Robinson, S. (2018). Health: Redefined. The Pan African Medical Journal, 30, 292-292. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2018.30.292.15436

Health is a notion that individuals create and relate to culture and social norms that should be defined congruently in natural design, objectives, and facts. The world health organization (WHO) proposes health as the absence of disease or illness and complete physical wellness. The concept of health is complex since when health is taken as a subjective aspect, it creates a notion for judgments and social norms that portray health definition. The former (health based on objectivity, subjectivity, and facts) is more realistic since it governs all aspects than the absence of illness or complete physical wellness (Campinha-Bacote, 2019). The latter is that individuals can have medical or lifestyle conditions and still lead healthy lives.From a patient’s perspective, health-related values involve cultural identity, ethnicity, moral and ethical views, individual preferences, and socioeconomic status (Andrew et al., 2020). Health care providers’ and patient’s values are linked through communication. Through communication, the nurses obtain subjective data from the patient, including the past and present state of health and cultural aspects which might interfere with the nurses’ ability to make health care decisions (Suh, 2004). Objective data are also taken to assess the patient’s strength and delve into their lifestyles to identify possible risk factors that make an individual susceptible to illnesses.Andrews, M. M., Boyle, J. S., Collins, J. W. (Eds.). (2020). Transcultural concepts in nursing care (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.Suh, E. E. (2004). The model of cultural competence through an evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 15(2), 93-102.less1 UnreadUnread0 ViewsViews

Campinha-Bacote, J. (2019). Cultural compatibility: A paradigm shift in the cultural competence versus cultural humility debate—Part I. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(1).

Health professionals understand cultural competence and that individual’s health is not separate from social and environmental contexts. They attend to physical, social, and ecological contexts that affect health and understand the difference between health and health aspects. Andrews et al., 2020 transcultural interprofessional practices (TIP) constitute systematic, patient-centered, and logical scientific ways of availing safe, affordable, evidence-based practices for individuals from different diversities. The critical components of the TIP relate to the individual’s context regarding beliefs, attitudes, and health-related values.

Early definitions of health, as understood by the biomedical community, focused solely on the normal functioning of the body, and the absence of disease (Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, 2016). Currently however, a more recent definition of health from the World Health Organization, broadly encompasses an individual or community’s ability to “realize aspirations and satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment” (World Health Organization, 1984, p. 4). A flushing out of that definition reveals a strong emphasis on health promotion within it. I agree with and appreciate this aspect of health promotion within the definition because we cannot define health for our patients (McCartney et al., 2019). We can promote health within our patients; we can educate them, provide treatments and offer recommendations, and we can even prescribe medications and testing to collect objective evidence. But we cannot provide health for our patients.

Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. (2016, August 12). Concepts of Health and Illness: Definitions of Health. AFMC Primer on Population Health: A virtual textbook on Public Health concepts for clinicians. https://phprimer.afmc.ca/en/part-i/chapter-1/ World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. (‎1984, September 13)‎. Health promotion : a discussion document on the concept and principles : summary report of the Working Group on Concept and Principles of Health Promotion. Copenhagen : WHO Regional Office for Europe. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/107835

McCartney, G., Popham, F., McMaster, R., & Cumbers, A. (2019). Defining health and health inequalities. Public Health, 172, 22-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2019.03.023

What we can offer is an opportunity for our patients to achieve health within their own environment. Our patients’ understanding of health, well-being, illness or disease will vary based on their culture, background and environment (McCartney et al., 2019). The experiences of health between patients can vary as greatly as they differ from each other. For some, living with heart disease and diabetes may be such a challenge that their lives are turned upside down. For others, chronic illness can be easily managed and will not be such a hindrance to their experience of being healthy. Factors such as education, environment, socioeconomic status, cultural background and beliefs, genetic disposition, mental health, and access to care all play a significant and complex role in one’s understanding of health (McCartney et al., 2019). The advanced practice nurse must take these factors into account when assessing a patient’s experience of health.

The World Health Organization started defining health in 1948 as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (McCartney et al., 2019). Today, managing disease, not solely its absence, is a means to a healthy life. Many people have a chronic disease that are managed and are considered to be healthy because they have their disease under control. Modern concepts of health recognize health as more than the absence of disease, implying a maximum capacity of the individual for self-realization and self-fulfillment (Svalastog et al., 2017). The health of individuals is also linked to the environment in which they live and especially to their ability to adapt and integrate into their life context. I believe that this is a more universal definition of health because it uses an approach that can be individualized. Health is a resource to support an individual’s function and provides the means to lead a full life with meaning and purpose. Health is also a positive concept that emphasizes social and personal resources, as well as physical capabilities.References Svalastog, A. L., Donev, D., Jahren Kristoffersen, N., & Gajović, S. (2017). Concepts and definitions of health and health-related values in the knowledge landscapes of the digital society. Croatian Medical Journal, 58(6), 431–435. https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2017.58.431less2 UnreadUnread3 ViewsViews

McCartney, G., Popham, F., McMaster, R., & Cumbers, A. (2019). Defining health and health inequalities. Public Health, 172(172), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2019.03.023

For many years the definition of health has remained unchanged as a narrow concept, encompassing physical wellbeing from a medical context (Oleribe et al., 2018). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (Fallon & Karlawish, 2019, p. 1104). To some, “health is wealth” -given that in the absence of good health, an individual or society cannot attain its full potential (Oleribe et al., 2019).By adopting the social constructionism point of view, one can understand that health is not simply present in nature, waiting to be discovered by scientists, but rather is continuously created by individuals and groups who interact among themselves in different social contexts (Leonardi, 2018, p. 739). This implies that health cannot have a unique definition in isolation; instead, health embodies as many definitions as there are people who use it (Leonardi, 2018, p. 739). When considering the various definitions of health, this is the definition that I agree with. When health is perceived through this perspective, it is a never-ending system of events, within which an observer may select some of these events and construct a theoretical configuration of health, depending on its own theories, knowledge purposes, and operational targets: no one of these can be absolutely better than another, because each definition may only be more or less useful for pursuing specific knowledge and operational targets in the different scopes of application (Leonardi, 2018, p. 739). To sum it up, health is subjective, fluid, and ever changing. In my opinion, health cannot be summed up in one restrictive definition.

Fallon, C. K., & Karlawish, J. (2019). Is the WHO definition of health aging well? Frameworks for “health” after three score and ten. American Journal of Public Health, 109(8), 1104-106. http://dx.doi.org.wilkes.idm.oclc.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305177

Oleribe, O. O., Ukwedeh, O., Burstow, N. J., Gomaa, A. I., Sonderup, M. W., Cook, N., Waked, I., Spearman, W., & Taylor-Robinson, S. D. (2018, August 24). Health: redefined. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6320447/