Project: Raising the health culture of society

Chapter 1: Health Culture, Health Education and Lifestyle as a Social Factor of Health

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About Health

Health is considered to be the highest human value of all time. There are many rituals and wishes associated with it since the birth of the child and on the occasion of important events in life-being. The question of preserving health has strained the human mind and effort through all ages. The health of the individual depends not only on the social conditions of the environment in which he lives but also on his own understanding of the importance of the health, the way of life, his behaviour and relationship with people. Health and viability have a significant impact on the full realisation of human potential because only a healthy person can develop and manifest their talents and abilities in full.

Health Culture

Culture is the combination of material and spiritual values of society, including the creative activity for their establishment and the way of their comprehension and use. It can be studied at the level of a person, social group or society as a whole.The culture of health is a combination of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour about the restoration, protection and strengthening of personal and public health. This definition shows that awareness and knowledge of health and diseases cannot be the only criterion for rich health culture. It is possible that a person has a lot of health cognisance, but they are not converted into convictions. It is happening because people often lack the appropriate attitudes, motivation, habits and behaviourWe distinguish public and personal health culture. Particular importance for the activity of protecting the health of the population has the personal health culture. In the system of social context, it manifests itself in the individual's attitudes towards his or her own lifestyle, the health of others (family, colleagues, etc.), his own hygiene (seeking a doctor, self-healing, indifference, etc.), the health services and the healthcare of the surrounding environment.

Health education

The establishment of the essential health culture of the population and individuals is associated with health education. In a broad sense, health education is a complete process of forming a subjective health culture, i.e. of a healthy lifestyle. These are targeted actions aimed at obtaining health knowledge, beliefs and behaviour related to the enhancement, maintenance and restoration of individual and public health.The intention is to influence value attitudes and build healthy behaviour to prevent disease, recover, protect and enhance the health of the individual and society as a whole. Health education studies the patterns of formation and strengthening of health and developing pathways to improving health culture, building a healthy lifestyle and health behaviour.The main tasks of health education are:

Mastering certain knowledge about the structure and functions of the human body, diseases and their prophylaxis, the daily routine, nutrition, the benefits of sports and tourism, the dangers of drug use and many others.

Building a system of needs and beliefs to strengthen health.

Forming skills for self-healthy behaviour and using the methods and techniques of self-nurture and self-education.

Creating an active health position in society leading to a health-enhancing social environment. In order to be effective, the health education of the population should be based on the following principles: popularity, scientific, concrete, systemic, massive, etc. Raising the population's health culture is a complex and long-lasting process and can not be limited to short-term activities of individual healthcare professionals among particular groups of people.We distinguish several models of health education.

The traditional model focuses on disease prevention and is applied to working with sick or suffered persons. It provides a one-way transfer of knowledge and practical advice, and the trainee is expected to accept them as a proven and only correct way of behaving.

The model of shared health education focuses on health risk factors. It is a two-way exchange of ideas between the trainer and the trainee in order to develop appropriate behavioural strategies in each case.

The promotional model of health education is aimed not only at preventing illness but also in fostering positive health by involving the learners themselves to exchange knowledge and experience in the atmosphere of partnership.

Lifestyle

Man continually tests his behavioural patterns in different social situations and makes his personal choice among the possible options, thus building a system of person-specific activities that characterise his behaviour, which we call lifestyle. It is unconditionally accepted that way of life has a profound impact on human health, including the emergence and development of the most common and severe diseases - chronic non-communicable diseases.Basically, the way of life of the individual can induce two models of behaviour: positive, which is health-promoting, and negative, harming health.A healthy lifestyle is a system of life activities, consistent with preserving and enhancing the health of the individual and society. It is a synthesized expression typical for an individual or social group traits of positive health behaviour. Characterised by the presence of:- active attitude towards own health, positive health motivation;- skills to protect and strengthen health;- positive health habits;- self-help skills and mutual help;- willingness for participation and engagement in solving public health problems.The circumstances causing harm to health include social and behavioural factors that are potentially manageable and preventable in principle, without the need to expect fundamental scientific discoveries. These are smoking, alcohol, drugs and drug substances abuse, adynamia and hypodynamia, irrational nutrition, psycho-social stress, family instability, loneliness, low education and culture, etc.

Health potential

As subjects of health, personality and the social group have health potential that determines a healthy lifestyle.The content of the person's health potential includes the qualities of responsibility, initiative, autonomy and personal dignity, the strength of character and self-control, ability to self-knowledge, self-build and self-help, free choice of health as a social value and behaviour motivated by personal and public health interests. The ability of the person to self-control and to control the situation involves mastering fears experiences, finding information about stress factors, shaping their expectations and goals, taking steps to solve the situation and judging their adequacy.The person's health potential also includes his responsibilities to value and shape health - both of his own and of others through a healthy lifestyle - and his rights to a safe, secure and healthy environment of respect, education and social position in choosing health for self and others, to participate in the implementation of health promotion policy.The ability to self-help is expressed in each person's concern to protect and strengthen health through a healthy lifestyle, self-observation, self-diagnosis, self-healing and active participation in the healing and rehabilitation process under the guidance of a medical specialist.Relief groups are an essential tool in overcoming similar suffering.The health potential of the social group springs from the premise that man and his health are formed in society to the same extent that he formed the society. The social group determines the personal and public health through the nature of communication within it, through the organisation and solidarity of its members, through the presence of support, empathy and mutual assistance in it.

Health motivation

A healthy lifestyle is motivated by personal and group health interests and needs. In their totality, these interests and needs form the health motivation of human living. That includes the place of health in the personal value hierarchy, the need for health knowledge, the need for better health, the need for behaviour to improve one's own and other health, the structure of the actual interests and requirements that are conducive or obstructive to health behaviour.The motives may be:

- motives of a health-rational character, based on knowledge and rational evaluation of the benefits of performing a specific health action;

- motives of a psycho-physiological character based on emotions or physical experiences associated with a particular health action (fear, pain);

- motives of aesthetic character, based on certain aesthetic values and ideals of the personality;

- motives of socio-psychological nature based on the influence of public opinion and norms of the informal group;

- motives of moral nature, based on the consciousness of moral duty, humanity, mutual assistance, and solidarity;

- motives of an economic nature related to welfare.

Health activity

The way of life of the person and the social group is healthy if it meets the criteria for health activity, anti-risk behaviour, self-help and mutual assistance, partnership and public commitment to health problems.

Health activity includes active attitudes towards the acquisition of health knowledge and skills, systematic control of one's own health, active health motivation by perceiving health as a priority value.

Anti-risk behaviour includes the presence of positive health habits and the absence of major risk factors such as smoking, alcoholism, irrational nutrition, hypodynamia, stress.

Self-help and mutual assistance abilities include a first-aid provisioning, psychological coping, support and solidarity, dietary nutrition, physical culture, sports and tourism.

The attitude towards interpersonal and intergroup partnership includes the public and personal commitment to health issues and participation in health promotion programs.

The health activity of the person and the group is the realisation of the practical skills for strengthening health. The Ottawa Charter states that health promotion supports individual and social development by providing information, health education and improving living skills. Thus it increases people's ability to exercise more control over their health and the environment, and to make choices in the direction of health.

Practical living and health-significant skills are such personal habits that allow people to manage their lives, communicate and interact successfully with other community members, and improve the environment. Personal practical skills form the content of positive health behaviour and a healthy lifestyle. An essential ingredient in the unity of these skills is the ability to prioritise and organise other people to work on health promotion.

Conclusion

A healthy lifestyle is a practical realisation of the health culture of the person and the community (society). Health culture is a system of knowledge, beliefs, values, habits and behavioural skills aimed at restoring, preserving, strengthening and enhancing personal and public health. Health culture is formed through health education - tested and validated instrument of health promotion.

Coming up next Chapter 2: The causal effect of health on social and economic prosperity.

Sources: 1) Pomagalo[.]com Health Culture, Cultivation and Education - Medical Abstract by Beytula 2) Referati[.]org Lifestyle as a Social Health Factor - Abstract by Ruska Ivanova