This course introduces students to a holistic concept of health and the components of a health-enhancing lifestyle. Students will be invited to reflect on their own experience of health, recognizing challenges and resources that can impact lifestyle choices. Students will be introduced to a model that can be applied in other courses to understand the multi-faceted aspects of health and healing.
Hours: 30 (Lecture Hours: 30)
Prerequisites:
None
Non-Course Prerequisites:
Program admission
Co-requisites:
HCAT 110, HCAT 112, HCAT 113, HCAT 123, HCAT 124, and HCAT 125
Course Content:
Detailed Course Content/Topics
1. Understanding Health
- Health as a process i.e. A journey not a destination.
- Physical, psychological/emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual dimensions of health. Interrelatedness of all aspects of health: introduction of the health wheel.
- Health as it relates to lifestyle and choices.
- Determinants of Health and how they affect health.
2. Components of Health
- Physical components of health:
- Physical activity.
- Physical self-care.
- Sleep and rest.
- Nutrition: Nutrition throughout the life cycle; factors that affect eating and nutrition, Canada’s Food Guide.
- Weight management.
- Avoiding or limiting harmful substances-licit and illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco and caffeine.
- Environment.
- Psychological/emotional (feeling) components of health:
- Interaction between emotions/perceptions and health.
- Psychologically safe environments.
- Stress and stress management.
- Common responses and effects of stress.
- Common stressors related to work of the HCA.
- Burnout and compassion fatigue.
- Strategies for self-assessment and wellness intervention.
- Cognitive (thinking) components of health:
- Rational thinking and perceiving.
- Ability to reason, interpret and remember.
- Ability to sense, perceive, assess and evaluate.
- Problem-solving ability.
- Creativity.
- Social (interactive) components of health:
- Social bonds and social supports in relation to health.
- Cultural/societal/traditional influences on lifestyle and choices.
- Spiritual components of health:
- Personal values and beliefs.
- Clarification of values and beliefs that are personally significant.
- Meaning-making.
- Activities that enrich and refresh.
3. Lifestyle Change
- Complexity of the lifestyle change process
- Critical thinking and problem-solving as it relates to lifestyle and choices
- Self-reflection and self-evaluation in relation to challenges and resources
- Setting achievable goals, using motivators, setting a realistic change agenda
- Recognizing difficulties inherent in personal change
Learning Outcomes:
1. Discuss the interrelationship of physical, social, cognitive, emotional, spiritual dimensions and Determinants of Health:
- Describe health as process i.e. a journey not a destination.
- Discuss the physical, psychological/emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual dimensions of health.
- Describe the interrelatedness of the dimensions of health.
- Discuss health as it relates to lifestyle choices.
- List and describe the Determinants of Health and how they impact health.
2. Display an understanding of how lifestyle choices and behaviours contribute to physical, psychological, social, cognitive and spiritual health:
- Discuss the positive effects of regular exercise and physical self-care.
- Describe the elements of a nutritious diet.
- Discuss elements of healthful weight management.
- Describe the adverse effects of common harmful substances (tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, drugs).
- Discuss the interaction between emotions/perceptions and physical well-being.
- Describe the effects of stress.
- Recognize aspects of the HCA role which could lead to unhealthy stress.
- Describe a variety of approaches to stress management.
- Discuss the cognitive (thinking) components of health.
- Describe how one’s ability to think, reason, interpret, remember, assess, and solve problems Is related to health.
- Discuss the importance of social support in personal wellness.
- Recognize cultural and societal influences on lifestyle choices.
- Describe the spiritual components of health.
- Discuss how clarification of one’s values and beliefs might relate to lifestyle choices.
- Identify personal focuses and activities that enrich, refresh and create meaning in one’s life.
- Describe how one’s choices affect one’s environent
- Discuss environmental influences on health.
3. Display an understanding of the complexity of the change process in relation to health promotion:
- Describe how critical thinking and problem-solving relate to lifestyle change.
- Display how to set achievable goals, use appropriate motivators and set a realistic change agenda.
- Discuss the complexities involved in lifestyle change.
Grading System: Percentage
Passing Grade: 75%
Text Books:
Textbooks are subject to change. Please contact the bookstore at your local campus for current book lists.