Personal Skills for Health Management Across Life Stages
Self-Esteem Formation
Self-esteem develops through the assimilation and reflection of opinions, estimates, and ratings from significant figures like parents, friends, school influences, and other close individuals.
What is Health Education (EPS)?
EPS Definition: Educational activities designed to increase population awareness regarding health and develop the values, attitudes, and personal skills that promote well-being.
Health and Personal Development Skills
This involves learning and enhancing personal resources and skills to effectively face life challenges and manage health.
Key Areas for Health Intervention
- Health Issues: Acting on existing diseases.
- Lifestyles: Focusing on prevention through lifestyle choices.
- Life Transitions: Promoting health and personal development during significant life changes.
Common Health Problems Addressed
Interventions target various health issues:
- Chronic Conditions: Diabetes, COPD, cardiovascular disease, schizophrenia, arthritis.
- Acute or Medium-Duration Issues: Back pain, musculoskeletal problems where timely action is crucial.
- Other Issues: Dependency, violence, abuse.
Intervention Strategies: What We Do
Our actions include:
- Education/Information: Explaining the disease diagnosis, promoting proper nutrition, exercise, and management techniques.
- Psychosocial Support: Focusing on acceptance, self-care, disease control, decision-making, social support, and family involvement.
Lifestyle’s Impact on Health
Lifestyle, or how you live, can profoundly affect an individual’s health and the health of others. Key areas include:
- Breastfeeding
- Exercise
- Sexuality
- Alcohol consumption
- Tobacco use
- Leisure and rest
- Personal factors
- Social surroundings
The Importance of Life Transitions
Reaching all population groups with a perspective focused on the journey of life yields better medium and long-term results than treating health problems individually. This applies to all stages:
- Pregnancy
- Infancy
- Adolescence
- Motherhood/Parenthood
- Maturity/Menopause
- Aging
- Caregiving
- Migration
Behaviors Across Life Stages
Associated behaviors involve development and acceptance of the characteristics and changes of each stage:
- Bodily self-care
- Emotional self-care
- Relational self-care
- Behaviors related to education (educational styles), caring, migration, etc.
Types of Health Interventions
Advice / Information
Brief interventions providing information and proposals for change, often seizing the opportunity during a consultation or scheduled professional meeting.
Individual Education
A series of organized consultations, agreed upon between the professional and user, working on the user’s ability regarding a particular topic.
Group Education
Scheduled sessions for homogeneous groups (similar socio-cultural class) aimed at:
- Improving their ability to address a topic or health problem.
- Raising awareness of social and political factors influencing health.
Understanding Health Promotion
Health promotion addresses the capacity of people and the social environment. It includes:
- Health Education (EPS)
- Information via media
- Social action
- Political, technical, or economic measures
Involves collaboration across health and social fields: Community Services (CS), social organizations, municipal services, and educational services.
Factors Influencing Your Health
- Environmental Factors: Surrounding physical environment, social environment.
- Personal Factors: Emotional area, cognitive area, skills, capabilities, decisions, situations, behaviors.
Parental Education Insights
Focuses on parenting today:
- Identifying what changes occur.
- Finding equilibrium between parenting and self-identity.
- Redefining relationships within the family and environment.
- Learning more about children: food (sweets), sleep hygiene, crying, pacifier/finger sucking, common illnesses/problems, childhood accidents.
- Fostering social support and resources.
- Promoting equitable distribution of responsibilities within the family.