An individual is considered healthy when their medical tests don’t show any disease; however, this definition could be too narrow.
The World Health Organisation defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing rather than simply the absence of disease or infirmity”. This concept is commonly known as holistic approach to healthcare.
Prevention
Preventive medicine can be an effective way to keep patients healthy while decreasing healthcare costs. This field of medicine involves screenings like Papanicolaou (Pap) smears or blood tests for cholesterol to identify diseases before they develop, as well as providing education on leading a healthier lifestyle, such as eating well balanced diet and regularly exercising.
Prevention scientists specialize in creating evidence-based practices and policies to decrease risk factors that threaten individuals, families and communities’ wellbeing, such as substance use, academic failure, violence and mental illness. This may involve curbing unhealthy behaviors like substance abuse, academic failure, violence against women or mental illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that 75 percent of annual health-related spending goes toward chronic illnesses that are often preventable, such as heart disease and stroke. Not only can such conditions be expensive for society as a whole, they can be detrimental to an individual’s quality of life as well as costly to society in general; so taking measures against them is paramount for everyone’s well-being.
Treatment
Treatment, also referred to as therapy, refers to any attempts made to remedy a health problem following its diagnosis. Treatment might include medications and surgery; counseling services; or any form of support necessary for managing illness.
If you suspect a cold, your doctor might advise getting blood or urine tests in order to identify what’s causing it and provide treatment plans tailored specifically to you. Such tests can uncover the kind of microbe responsible and allow him or her to determine an ideal therapy course of action for you.
Care, therapy and treatment do not equal cure. Preventive measures may prevent illness while most treatments only mitigate its symptoms temporarily; some therapies however can actually result in permanent relief from disease or disorder.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation care involves helping individuals recover, retain or enhance the abilities necessary for daily living after injury or disease, including physical, work and speech therapy as well as emotional and social support services.
Rehabilitation services differ from other healthcare offerings in that they are tailored specifically to each person’s individual needs, drawing on various disciplines and applying the biopsychosocial model of health. Rehabilitation focuses on what matters most to each patient – their relationships, goals and choices.
However, there has not been an agreed definition of rehabilitation; this may be because those paying for, providing and receiving it have different interpretations; without an agreed upon understanding it becomes hard to accurately evaluate specific actions’ effectiveness. Furthermore, low and middle income countries often lack enough professional rehabilitation staff to meet demand; yet as demand for effective rehabilitation increases more research should be conducted into how it can best be delivered.
End of Life Care
If a loved one’s health is rapidly declining, they could be close to death. At this stage it is essential that dignity be preserved while making decisions that will ensure comfort for both of you.
End of life care typically entails ending medical tests and treatments to extend life; instead, pain and symptom management treatments will likely be administered, whether at home, a hospice program, or care facility.
Engaging early with their doctor regarding end of life care wishes can help avoid family disputes at an emotional time.
Advance directives can also help your loved ones. By documenting their wishes for end of life care and selecting someone they trust as their decision maker in case they become incapacitated themselves, advance directives provide important peace of mind when faced with hospital death as more senior people tend to spend their final days there than younger individuals.
