Holistic Health In The United States

The effective patient-centered, culturally competent, holistic care can be provided only by culturally competent nurses, able to “recognize and understand the differences in their culture and the culture of others; to respect other 's values, beliefs, and expectations.”(Edelman, Kudzma, Mandle, 2014). In order to provide quality, safe and efficient care and meet patient 's needs, nurses must expand their cultural knowledge, be aware about patient 's culture, and have “an honest desire to disregard personal biases and to treat every person with respect.“(Edelman, Kudzma, Mandle, 2014). The Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) was introduced by Rachel Spector in 2000. This tool assists “to determine both inter and intra-ethnic group differences in respect to a given heritage and also to traditional health and illness beliefs and practices:” (Spector). The HAT is a combination of twenty nine questions, aimed to gather information from different families: about the family members, place of birth, relationship within the family, language, beliefs, traditions and etc. The information, gathered during the HAT interviews, is useful to understand more about the patient 's culture, beliefs, traditions, spiritual beliefs, patient 's understanding of health and illness before starting the care and developing an individual care plan related to health maintenance, health protection with health restoration. According to R. Spector, being “culturally sensitive, culturally appropriate, and

Per our readings, the search to identifying the different dimensions of well-being that includes the holistic aspect of human being, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) was established. Also, this week’s literature revealed that there are inconsistent data to the concept that alternative use is uncommon among ethnic minorities. Based upon my experiences, I would argue that the use of CAM is prevalent among white, African-American, Latino, Asian, and Native Americans in the US, however, what differ is the specific CAM modality that one group may choose to practice due values and cultural influences. CAM offers a more holistic, more personalized and affordable treatment to patients with different or under-researched health care problems. Also, from my perspective, the prevalence of CAM reflects the established yet, recently surfacing needs and values in society such as an increased sense of

Chapter 2 focuses on problems in health care such as access, cost, quality, and what some believe to lead to health issues. “The World Health Organization defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being” (p27). Many argue that “the study of social problems is, essentially, the study of health problems, as each social problem affects the physical, mental, and social well-being of humans and the social groups of which they are a part” (p27).

Public health is positioned as one in light of the fact that public health is central to 21st century medicinal services and shares the same general objectives as whatever is left of the health care framework - lessening sudden death and minimizing the impacts of ailment, incapacity, and damage furthermore gives financial and social advantages to the area, due to some degree to expanded profit.

Wellness is about you. It is about learning to love your whole self. It is about assuming charge of your life, living in process, and channeling life energy. It is about choices. It is about the one way to wellness - your way. Wellness is a priority in my life. In my opinion as a nation we manage our weight incorrectly. One may work out for 7 days then weigh themselves at the end of that week expecting a change. Moreover, one may only manage their weight when getting an annual checkup. One may eat healthy for a couple of weeks then began eating unhealthy all over again. I do believe we are active as nation. Whether we attempt for a week or month, everyone at least tries to be active. According to the Fast food, Fat profits: Obesity in America

The forces driving medicalization are 1) biotechnology which included the pharmaceutical industry and genetics, 2) managed care and 3) consumers. Galvanized in this way medicalization has become a powerful force in society. Our remit in this paper is to examine whether this is for the better or the worse.

It is common among healthcare providers to recognize the management of illness or disease as the primary goal in their practice. From intensive care units to primary care offices, this antiquated process of care brands providers as sleuths in discovering a patient’s immediate ailment in order to treat the condition and subsequently optimize their prognosis, dependent on the diagnosis and tolerance of treatment (Peterson & Bredow, 2013). However, with the cost of healthcare exponentially rising and the focus of care leaning towards cost-effective and resource-efficient provisions of care, the approach to promote health rather than focus on existing chronic illness or dysfunction is becoming a crucial priority in today’s healthcare (Pender, Murdaugh

Holistic health is a system that measures health according to health status indications such as wealth, education, employments and socio-economic status1. It is a system that promotes one to take responsibility of their own health by taking environmental, social and psychological influences of the individual into account2.

Having a holistic perspective means to visualize the mind and body as parts that are separate but come together and work as a whole. Holism emphasizes the importance of the whole body.Whether it is physical, chemical, or mental, every part of our body is connected and is related to one another. Our book “Practical Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity” (Kretchmar R., Scott 2005) states that holism is ideally promised to revolutionize the way we think about people, how we educate them, treat them medically, promote their spiritual growth, and help them move(pg102). However, a holistic approach on medicine has both its advantages and disadvantages. An article called “Pros and Cons of Holistic Medicine” lists some strengths of an holistic perspective that includes the personal connection you can make with your patient by giving them all your attention, treating the patient as a whole, and the stress reduction of the patient. This approach of treating patients as a whole allows patients to consider their wellness overall and encourages them to live a

A successful and sustainable health system has three attributes namely affordability, acceptability and adaptability (Fineberg, H., 2012). It should be affordable: This means that the patients and their families, employers, and government are able to meet the cost. The costs should not overstretch government spending because it will trickle down to the same individuals and the families of the sick patients in terms of tax. Acceptable, this means the patient and the care providers should be in agreement with how care is provided. Patients should be informed about the process of care and inferred or written consent to care provision obtained. The care should be dynamic, and in line with current evidence based practice. This includes utilization of new innovations in technology, appropriate response and

Therefore care and treatment should be only delivered by trained medical specialist and health professionals. Alternative and complementary medicine cannot challenge the dominance of biomedicine. As was summarised by Barry (2011) study of Illich (1993) stated that there are also harmful consequences of medical intervention. These implications of the power of medicine are referred to the term of Iatrogenesis, which implicates that without the medical intervention no harm would be done. Medical errors, negligence and adverse effect of drugs can affect patients’ health. Furthermore in some cases health professionals sometimes neglect patients’ right to inform about their health, which can play a major role in their process of recovery from illness. Illich (1993) also uses a term of medicalization of life where medical professionals, pharmaceutical companies promote sickness of society for their interest to gain power over society (ibid). Nettleton (2013) described medical model in the way that it is only aiming to restore body from disease to the normal state of being, free form any form or symptoms of disease. This matter is rather personal for individuals, what is ‘normal’ and what is not tends to be subjective. Furthermore according to Walsh (2004) the biomedical model has been criticised and challenges since 1960 for only focusing on biological causes of illness. The critique is based on fact that this model is neglecting the impact of environmental, sociological and psychological aspects on health and illness. Famous study by McKeown (1979) provides another criticism of medical science by questioning their validity. McKeown thesis stated that growth of population in Western societies was mainly due to economic conditions, better nutrition and improvements of personal hygiene rather than improvements of

My proposed topic of holistic wellness was not specifically addressed through the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website. As a result, I decided to focus on anxiety. One definition of anxiety is a constant feeling of worry, nervousness, or uneasiness that lasts at least 6 months, which may hinder an individual’s completion of daily activities/functions (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). To assist in the research process, NIMH provides a generous selection of research trials, resources, and information.

In the opening of Michael Marmot’s book, The Health Gap, the author gives a brief background regarding his exposure to healthcare and the apparent inequities he was immediately able to identify when studying the field of medicine. An example of this was when he witnessed an emotionally broken patient express to her psychiatrist the ongoing depression she was experiencing, in which the medical professional proceeded to give her a the simple recommendation: just change the pills she was consuming. Marmot expresses his disbelieve as to why her case was not approached in a holistic matter, pointing out that he thoughts doctors were suppose to not only put out fires but also prevent them. Marmot also remineces on his time studying epidemiology,

Medicalization is a process by which non-medical problems are defined and labeled as a medical problem in terms of illness and disorder. For instance, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) wasn’t considered as a disorder until post World War period. It has been expanding and including new categories such as aging, anxiety, menstruation etc. Medicalization is important because it’s taking our regular activities and habits and defining as a disorder. Also, it increases more moral responsibility for individuals and makes people constantly think that there’s something wrong with them. As a result, many new questions have been raised about power, social control and jurisdiction of medicine. Physicians have gained enormous power to control people’s lives through medical excuses. Their total efforts are dedicated to make people ‘normal’. That raises a question on the concept of normality and healthy life how medicine defines a ‘normal’ person.

An underserved community refers to disadvantaged populations which have limited access to quality health care providers, facilities and/or services due to various reasons. A significant number of individuals and communities, who experience inequities or barriers to receiving adequate healthcare, reside in low-income rural areas. This negatively affects their quality of life, preventing them from reaching their full potential for optimal living.