Description
Benchmark - Human Experience Across the Health-Illness Continuum |
The benchmark assesses the following competency:
Benchmark: 5.1. Understand the human experience across the health-illness continuum.
Research the health-illness continuum and its relevance to patient care. In a 750-1,000 word paper, discuss the relevance of the continuum to patient care and present a perspective of your current state of health in relation to the wellness spectrum. Include the following:
- Examine the health-illness continuum and discuss why this perspective is important to consider in relation to health and the human experience when caring for patients.
- Reflect on your overall state of health. Discuss what behaviors support or detract from your health and well-being. Explain where you currently fall on the health-illness continuum.
- Discuss the options and resources available to you to help you move toward wellness on the health-illness spectrum. Describe how these would assist in moving you toward wellness (managing a chronic disease, recovering from an illness, self-actualization, etc.).
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Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: THE HEALTH ILLNESS CONTINUUM
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Human Experience along the Health-Illness Continuum
Name of Student:
Name of Institution:
THE HEALTH ILLNESS CONTINUUM
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Human Experience along the Health-Illness Continuum
The health-illness continuum is a combination of subsystems which form a system under
medical care whereby a patient undergoes a treatment over time at regular intervals. It may also
comprise of a variety of treatment options ranging from a person’s physical needs to their mental
needs. It involves a team of medical officers with a range of professional skills that ensure the
patient undergoes comprehensive care (Petrillo, Capone & Keyes, 2015). As a result, there is
more effective decision making which ensures the delivery of quality health care to the patients.
It is also worth noting that nurses play a central part in the management of the patients’
condition.
Examine the health-illness continuum and discuss why this perspective is critical to consider
concerning health and the human experience when caring for patients.
According to nurses and other medical practitioners, the health continuum is what
differentiates an ill person from a person who is not under any form of illness. It can also be
the neutral point where the two states of health meet (Knaul, Atun & Frenk, 2015). It also
illustrates the balance of health on a scale such that the lower a patient's health measures on a
continuum, the more severe their condition and the higher the measurement, the better the
state of their wellbeing.
Using such information, the nurses can have a better understanding of a patient's
condition and therefore devise methods on how to manage their illnesses effectively. In
instances where patients are suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer, their care
THE HEALTH ILLNESS CONTINUUM
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continuum kicks off after their diagnosis and does not stop until death. For obese people,
their continuum constitutes of a range of activities meant to keep them fit and health...