Since the middle of the last century, our definitions of both health and wellness have been more encompassing than simply absence of disease. In the late 1940s, WHO (the World Health Organization) defined health like this: “…a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Shortly after that, in the early 1950s, Dr. Halbert L. Dunn, chief of the National Office of Vital Statistics, wanted to find a new word to represent the greater health and sense of well-being implied in the WHO definition. He spoke about “high-level wellness” in a series of papers and lectures he gave at that time. With that phrase, he began a wellness movement, a movement that had its ups and downs, supporters and detractors, but by the 90s, the word was a permanent part of our American vocabulary and the movement a recognized phenomenon of our culture.
The word “wellness” took hold initially in an alternative health movement. Today, however, wellness programs, including corporate wellness programs, may include alternative approaches but are part of a mainstream approach to health.
Don R. Powell, Ph.D., president of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, Farmington Hills, Michigan, in Characteristics of Successful Wellness Programs, discusses the components a wellness program might include: computerized assessments (HRA – Health Risk Analysis), weight control, smoking cessation, disease prevention, medical self-care, fitness, stress management, nutritional guidance, alcohol or substance abuse, back care and more.
Measurements determine the effect of programs at the client end as well as the company end. Clients can establish measurable health objectives and monitor the impact of what they accomplish in very specific ways. Other kinds of measurements determine the success of programs at the employer end: participation levels, employee feedback, reduction in sick days, reduction in healthcare costs, and changes in lifestyle behavior.
When companies offer wellness programs to their employees, they help themselves along with their employees since poor health is costly. Similarly, government programs reduce the burden on the public health system when they help individuals improve their health. Even insurance companies recognize the benefit for themselves of healthier policy-holders and will pay for wellness programs.
Medical schools, teaching hospitals, in fact many hospitals, offer wellness information and programs as part of what they do. Today we see the complete integration of traditional health services with a wellness movement that started with a “coined” word in the 1940s.
As a nurse, you know how important wellness is. You have seen the consequences of not caring for yourself. Take advantage of the many services available to you. Find out what your hospital or company offers, and find out what kinds of things your insurance will cover. Work with a fitness expert to determine a program that is right for you, and join the wellness movement!
Wellness is more than absence of disease. Seize the opportunities around you to achieve vibrant, good, whole health.
Teri
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