BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

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Chapter 8
Health Risk Behaviors and Communication in Risk Conditions
Every human being is the author of his
own health or disease.
8.1. Dangerous Factors Determining Appearance of Illness
Buddha
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as "a state of
complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity." When these conditions of well – being are
not fulfilled, then one can be considered to have an illness or be ill. Illness
sometimes referred to as ill-health or a state of poor health. Taking in
account the broad definition of health given by WHO, it is possible to
resume that human health is influenced at least by three factors: physical,
mental and social. And consequently the state of poor health is determined
by the same factors.
Physical factors strongly influence health status and health
practices. Among them can be listed: genetic make-up, age, developmental
level, race and sex etc. For instance the young woman who has a family
history of breast cancer and diabetes is at a higher risk to develop these
conditions.
Mental factor include some dimensions: emotional, intellectual and
spiritual. It is proved that emotion affect body function and consequently
influences health. For instance long term stress affects the body systems
and anxiety affects health habits; conversely, calm acceptance and
relaxation can actually change body responses to illness. Or a relevant
example is a student that prior to a test always has diarrhea.
The intellectual dimension encompasses cognitive abilities,
educational background and past experiences. These influence a client’s
responses to teaching about health and reactions to health care during
illness. They also play a major role in health behaviors. For instance a
young person with diabetes who follows a diabetic diet but continues to
drink beer and eat pizza with friends several times a week is at risk
because did not realize the danger of such a behavior.