Womens Health 3

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Chapter Three

Developing a Healthy Lifestyle


What is Healthy?

• Your health is dependent upon personal lifestyle choices as well as the following uncontrollable elements:

• Genetics

• Environmental conditions

• Technological developments of your country

• Gender

• Ethnicity

• Cultural issues

• Age-specific risks

• Potential for accidents


Life Expectancy

• Many factors determine how long you live

• Life expectancy provide researchers with statistical averages for tracking health concerns, but does not consider the “individual”

• The average life expectancy for a person living in the U.S. is 77.5 years

• The average life expectancy for women is 80.1 years

• This average is 5.3 years more than menReference: http://www.census.gov/


Leading Causes of Death for Women

Age Group Number 1 Cause of Death

15-24 years Accidents

25-34 years Accidents

35-64 years Malignant neoplasms

65 years and older Malignant neoplasms

Table 3.2 Leading Causes of Death for Females (all races)


Whole Person Concept

• Three important elements bring about your state of well-being

• Mind (psyche)• Body (physical status)• Spirit (philosophy about living for yourself and with

others)

• Two major categories of factors that influence your status as a whole person:

• Endogenous factors (events that occur within you)• Exogenous factors (events that occur outside you)


Dimensions of Wellness

• Wellness has been described as consisting of 6 major dimensions

• Physical• Social• Occupational• Intellectual• Spiritual• Emotional

See FYI: Descriptions of Wellness


World Wellness

• There are 6 primary environmental issues for world wellness:

• Air• Water• Energy• Food • Toxins• Nature

• The world is referred to as Mother Earth, and is the earliest and strongest female archetype that exists for women

• It is vital that issues of world health is not ignored compared to individual health


Wellness vs. Illness

• Health is viewed along a continuum of wellness to illness

• Health intervention is the act of interfering to create change

• Three forms of health interventions are:• Education (research and study)• Prevention (avert occurrences of illness)• Treatment (decrease discomfort/increase health)


Learning and Behavior

• Primary reinforcers can be positive, negative, and punishment

• A Positive Reinforcer is rewarding the behavior• A Negative Reinforcer is the removal of

something uncomfortable• A Punishment involves the presentation of

something uncomfortable

• Resistance to change is often a result of the existence of secondary reinforcers (interfering belief or value)


Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Figure 3.3)


Theories and Models of Health Behavior Change

• The Transtheoretical Model• Multicomponent stage model consisting of 5 stages

• Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Action

• 3 primary concepts that can affect behavior change

• Self-Efficacy• Conviction that you can change behavior based on your

actions

•The preceding are theories or models that suggest ways to change health behaviors


Planning Your Lifestyle Change

• Managing lifestyle changes can occur through a self-help plan which involves 3 steps:– Personal Inventory (evaluation of personal health)– Helpful Attitude (consider this a permanent change

that promotes realism)– Plan of Action

• Assessing behavior• Setting specific goals (behavioral contract)• Formulating intervention strategies• Evaluating progress


Chapter Three

Developing a Healthy Lifestyle

Womens Health 3

Health & Medicine

Transcript of Womens Health 3