GCU The Health Illness Continuum and The Importance of Perspective Discussion

Nurses’ Role in Health-Illness Continuum

Introduction

When caring for patients, it is critical to understand the health-illness continuum in connection to health and the human experience. The nursing profession emphasizes adaptability; health care providers offer treatment for patients in hospitals and communities, visiting patients in their homes and working in various locations (Fawcett et al., 2019). The paper addresses the health-illness continuum importance, provides personal reflection, and discusses resources supporting wellness. Recognizing the health-illness continuum allows nursing specialists to advance the worth and dignity of individuals and groups and assist others in ways that enhance human well-being.

Health-Illness Continuum Importance to Health and Patient Care

The health-illness continuum proposes that individuals may proceed proactively toward improved health and well-being by going through various stages. Olde Rikkert et al. (2022) state that awareness, education, and self-management development are phases that begin with sickness problems that involve a variety of clinical signs, symptoms, and limitations. Travis, a public health physician, developed the dynamic health-illness continuum and claimed that understanding the connections between disease and well-being is crucial for improving well-being (Olde Rikkert et al., 2022). A person can be treated to go from the illness stage, which includes symptoms, impairment, and signs, to a neutral point and then shift toward well-being via awareness, education, and growth. Swanson et al. (2019) acknowledge that health is highly personalized, and each person interprets this idea differently. Illness, like health, is a dynamic condition that reflects a person’s relationship with their internal and external circumstances, and it occurs on a spectrum from severe to minor illnesses (Swanson et al., 2019). When caring for patients, the health-illness continuum is crucial to explore in connection to health and the human experience since health care providers undertake actions that assist patients in their unique path of attaining completeness.

There are many levels of well-being, just as there are various levels of sickness. Stohecker (2019) asserts that the health-illness continuum depicts the link between the treatment and well-being paradigms. Wickramarathne et al. (2020) mention that the therapeutic perspective that emphasizes medications, medical procedures, and psychotherapy can lead patients to an impartial stage where the adverse effects of diseases have been alleviated. Furthermore, the well-being perspective, which can be used at any point along the continuum, pushes people to strive for higher levels of health. The health perspective unites people beyond the neutral point and encourages them to go as far as possible toward health (Wickramarathne et al., 2020). Individuals commonly experience side effects, such as feeling weary, disheartened, tense, or dissatisfied with their life. Such unfavorable physical and mental conditions can commonly lead to serious health concerns (Wickramarathne et al., 2020). As a result, it is essential to prioritize one’s physical self, use the mind constructively, convey sentiments effectively, and connect with others. Nursing professionals must lead patients toward health rather than addressing the source of sickness.