Concept of health and illness

Health

Definition

• absence of disease;
• a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, which is the result of harmony in the interaction of the organism and the environment;
• a state that, on the one hand, allows people to know their own goals and satisfy needs, on the other hand, to react to changes and cope with their environment;

sociological health - a physical and emotional relationship that enables an individual to achieve desired values and enjoy them, living a full and active life according to the individual's ideas.

Psychological health - psychological well-being, interaction in harmony with society.

Health Models

Clinical - health is defined as the absence of signs and symptoms of disease or injury.

Ecological - based on the relationship between people and their environment, consists of three components:

• host - a person who may be exposed to the risk of disease;
• agent - factors occurring in the environment that can cause disease;
• The environment - internal or external - can have an effect on the development of the disease;

fulfilment of a certain role - this is the ability of an individual to fulfill his social and work tasks.

Adaptive - is considered a creative process where an individual continuously and actively adapts to his surroundings and environment.

• Determination of health - health is determined by three factors:
  • individual characteristics of an individual - innate psychological and somatic dispositions, dispositions to health and illness;
  • social factors - such as conditions for maintaining and strengthening health, for disease prevention and for subsequent treatment;
  • 'environment - the overall climate and economic development of that country;
• prevention of disease and promotion of health' - prevention of disease is an activity that is aimed at preventing disease using interventions such as immunization of the organism, reducing the risks of disease, care for the environment.

Disease

• The state of the organism arising from the action of external or internal circumstances disrupting its proper functioning and balance. There are disturbances in the function and structure of organs leading to the appearance of symptoms of the disease and other consequences.
• Illness is the sum of the organism's reactions to a disturbance in the balance between it and the environment. The disease also affects those around the sick person. The need for care arises, there are changes in the family's rhythm of life, economic problems may occur.
• Illness is always accompanied by subjective feelings, individual experiences.

Variable factors influencing health and disease

• Genetic factors - are a disposition to develop a certain disease, e.g. hemophilia.
• Demographic and geographical influences - they strongly influence, for example, the life span of the population, different tolerance to some civilizational diseases.
• Environment - style and level, value orientation, quality of economic security.
• Cultural and Religious Influences.
• Previous experience' - individual.
• Cognitive abilities - individual approach to disease prevention, willingness to respect information about the occurrence of diseases, willingness to respect certain limitations brought about by the disease, willingness to cooperate with health professionals and the family.

Stages of behavior and attitudes in illness

• 1. stage – encountering the first health problems (pain, nausea, loss of appetite).
• 2. stage – determining one's own diagnosis based on previous experiences, on the basis of receiving experiences from the environment.
• 3. stage – deciding how to proceed (rely on self-medication, use home remedies, seek lay, professional or paramedical help).

Attitudes of patients towards their own illness

• Rationalization - justifying irrational motivations for action, striving for false justification, i.e. "wooing".
• Simulation - faking illnesses, seeking advantages, wanting to be the center of attention.
• Dissimulation - denial of illness, fear of diagnosis, fear of abandonment.
• Aggravation - exaggeration of disease symptoms, desire for attention, diverting attention elsewhere.
• Belittling - belittling the symptoms of the disease, fear of the disease, reluctance to submit to the treatment regimen.

Links

References

ZACHAROVÁ, Eva. Zdravotnická psychologie: teorie a praktická cvičení. 2., aktualizované a doplněné vydání edition. Grada Publishing a.s, 2017. 264 pp. ISBN 978-80-271-0155-9.