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1: Introduction to Health, Wellness, and Change

  • Page ID
    73808
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    Learning Outcomes

    By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

    • Describe the Nine Dimensions of Wellness
    • Identify positive actions you could take to increase your wellness in each of the dimensions.
    • Employ the skills of Health Literacy
    • Explain the leading causes of death along with the risk factors
    • Utilize SMART goal setting and action planning for behavior change

    Are you healthy?

    What does being healthy mean to you?

    Have you tried setting healthy New Years resolutions or goals? Did it work?

    Welcome to the world of health and wellness! As you read this book, you will be taken on a learning journey that will continually ask you to reflect on your own life, your health, your wellness, your choices, and your behaviors. Health is a topic that impacts all of us, thus this learning journey is personal to you and your life experiences.

    • 1.1: What does Health and Wellness mean?
      This page examines the interrelationship between health and wellness as outlined by the World Health Organization and the National Wellness Institute, defining health as complete well-being and wellness as the active pursuit of this state. It introduces the Nine Dimensions of Wellness—Physical, Emotional, Social, Environmental, Financial, Intellectual, Occupational, Spiritual, and Cultural—as interconnected factors affecting overall wellness.
    • 1.2: A Healthy Population
      This page emphasizes the positive impact of wellness practices on life quality and longevity, highlighting the shift in leading causes of death from infectious to chronic diseases. It underscores the importance of awareness of risk factors and the need for informed lifestyle choices, such as improving diet and exercise habits.
    • 1.3: Healthy People
      This page highlights the significance of a healthy population for national prosperity and introduces the Healthy People 2030 initiative, which sets five health goals to enhance overall well-being and reduce disparities. It stresses the importance of health literacy for individuals to analyze health information critically. Additionally, the page presents the CRAAP method as a framework for evaluating health information sources and lists reputable organizations for reliable health resources.
    • 1.4: Taking Charge of your health- Making Healthy Changes
      This page emphasizes the importance of daily choices on health and presents the Nine Dimensions of Wellness, urging self-reflection on health behaviors. It introduces the non-linear Stages of Change model, detailing the five stages of behavior change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
    • 1.5: Taking Charge of your health - Making Healthy Changes
      This page outlines effective strategies for successful behavior change in health and wellness. Recommendations highlight setting approach over avoidance goals, prioritizing mastery goals, and identifying personal motivations. It stresses creating a daily action plan, enhancing self-efficacy through achievements, and fostering a positive mindset with self-talk and enjoyment throughout the change process.
    • 1.6: End-of-Chapter Material
      This page covers the nine dimensions of health and wellness, emphasizing its ongoing nature and the significance of a healthy population for national prosperity. It highlights how lifestyle choices impact major health issues, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and stresses the importance of health literacy and the willingness to change unhealthy behaviors. The chapter advocates for setting SMART goals to effectively achieve health objectives.


    This page titled 1: Introduction to Health, Wellness, and Change is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kelly Falcone via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.