Training Room 1
1. Training Room 1
1.2. Page 3
Training Room 1: Defining Health and Wellness
What Determines Health?
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According to Health Canada, healthy living means making positive choices that enhance your physical, mental, and spiritual health. At every stage of life, health is determined by complex interactions between social and economic factors, the physical environment, and individual behaviour. Learn what the Public Health Agency of Canada identifies as the key determinants of health in Determinants of Health.
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Read through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s “Key Determinants: Underlying Premises and Evidence Table.” Pay particular attention to the evidence for each determinant. Which determinant caught your attention? Why? Is there one or more determinant you feel might be impacting your health status?
The dimensions of wellness and the determinants of health have similarities and differences. In a discussion with a friend, family member, or classmate, compare and contrast the dimensions and the determinants. Is one a better measure of health and wellness than the other, or do they complement one another?
The determinants of health are ranked by the Public Health Agency of Canada as most influential to least influential, in the order you saw in “Key Determinants: Underlying Premises and Evidence Table.” Which determinant do you think is the most influential? Why?
Your teacher may ask you to post your thoughts in a course discussion area and/or to respond to the posts of other students.
Determinants and Public Policy
The Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization have concluded that there is a direct correlation between the determinants of health and the health of individuals in a population.
Canada has adopted a “population health approach” to improving health care issues. A population health approach is based on the belief that factors outside the health care system significantly affect health. Canadian health policy attempts to address the inequalities created by each of the determinants of health.