Holistic Model
Content
Holistic health is actually an approach to life, “Holos” means entire or total. The Holistic means “whole” or complete. The concept of holistic health is not new. This ancient approach as far back as 5000 years ago in India and China, stressed living healthy way of life in harmony with nature. It is an approach to health based on a love of life, not a fear of death. It leads to high level of wellness for the total person throughout the total life style.
“A model is a theoretical way of
understanding a concept or ideas.
Models represent different ways of
approaching complex issues. Models
are used to understand the relationship
between these concepts and client’s
attitudes towards health and health
behaviors.”
Good health &wellbeing can be achieved by understanding the whole in a perspective that includes his various dimensions i.e. physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, political etc. Holistic health model of nursing attempts to create condition that promotes optimal health. In this model clients are involved I their healing process by assuming some responsibilities for their own health maintenance. In this model nurses used some effective, economical, non-pharmacological compliment of traditional medical care for recognize the natural healing abilities of body i.e. music therapy, reminiscence, relaxation therapy, therapeutic touch and guided imagery.
“Holistic approach to health insists that total good health and well being can be achieved by understanding the whole person in a perspective that includes his physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions”.
Individual is viewed as biopsychosocial being in continuous interaction with the environment. The biopsychosocial view considers a human being as the total interaction of biological, psychological and social aspects. When all aspects are completely balanced the person experiences an excellent state of health. Potential alterations in health exist when any of these areas of the being becomes less stable.
The individual according to Indian scriptures is „Prakriti‟ and „Purusha‟. Nature (Prakriti) is said to be the formation of body and „Purusha‟ the soul. Spirit is the cause of expression of pleasure and pain guided by mind, intellect, ego etc. Thus the individual is a whole with body, mind and soul and wholeness of the individual is our concern. This holistic approach gives rise to a new model of health care based on life energy rather than on a pathological concept of approach. Mind is the function of body. It does not exist apart from the body.
Our emotions and strong feeling affect the body inwardly and outwardly. Unpleasant emotions such as fear, anger, worry cause headache, insomnia, indigestion and various neurotic diseases. Deep thinking and concentration can cause physical fatigue. Mind motivates all physical and motor activities. Emotional conflicts are responsible to cause various illnesses such as hysteria, gastrointestinal troubles like peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, flatulence etc.
It is person oriented rather than disease oriented. Its objective is full, vibrant health (Positive wellness) not symptom amelioration. It respects the valid contribution of current medical science and practice. It is democratic and tolerant rather than authoritarian. It focuses on internal healing as a useful supplement to surgery, radiation, and drug therapy. It is trilevel, (physical, emotional, spiritual) not uni level (physical only). It is life cycle oriented (Longitudinal), not event specific (cross-sectional)
It focuses on primary prevention rather than crisis intervention. It places major responsibility for health on the client, not the professional. It is long term ongoing and continuous effort and is not fragmented. It recognizes that not all illness is “bad” and “to be eliminated” at the earliest possible moment. Some symptoms represent detoxification, or signal the need for balancing. It focuses on primary prevention rather than crisis intervention and it goes beyond prevention. It recognizes that medicine and health are not synonymous, but are vitally interdependent. It is a process of centering, integrating, balancing, harmonizing and vitalizing.
DIMENSIONS OF HOLISTIC HEALTH CARE :
Some principles : Have more natural food, fruits and vegetables and a balanced diet Avoid overcooking, too much oil, processed food, refined food, food additives/ preservatives Limit or avoid non-vegetarian food Drink lots of water Take high fiber roughage Enjoy eating
A keep healthy, one must remain always a little hungry. In addition to the quality of food it is also necessary to think of its quantity. Moreover in our society, regarding people with food is considered a token of affection. So we would be aware of the proper diet in proper age, time and amount.
“Prevention is better than cure”. In other words “don‟t eve fall ill”. But who wants to fall ill at all? Do you think it is up to us to decide whether to fall ill or not? We should maintain our physical fitness by : Maintaining personal hygiene Regulating diet Exercise, activity Yoga, meditation Regular adequate sleep Prevention of fatigue, over work etc.
Have a clear picture of life‟s goal and meaning of life, develop positive attitude Nurture faith dimensions, look at the bright side of life Develop caring relationship Restrictive positive environment Learn to say “no” when it is beyond your ability Have adequate sleep, rest, exercise and diet Bring variety in daily living/routine Be cheerful, laugh, smile have a sense of honour Relax, have a vacation Think that you are the unique person in this world Love and respect self. Observe thought patterns for few minutes daily Practice meditation for some time daily.
Man can not live without even one of essential elements of life – air, water and sunlight. It should be realized that humans need to co-exit in harmony with our natural environment in order to survive. Unfortunately, our environment is deteriorating day by day until one day it will become a threat at to our human existence. Today the main causes of human deaths are cancer and diseases of heart and brain. Survey shows that 75% of cancer is caused by environmental pollution and various carcinogenic chemicals absorbed by human.
Health care providers are seeking cost effective ways to deliver an ever increasing range of services to the diverse needs of consumers. Consumers are demanding greater accessibility to quality health care services at affordable costs. Nursing is still striving not only to establish itself as a reputed profession but also as a major component of Indian health care delivery system. Nursing need to be theoretically and practically equipped with use of technological advances, biomedical research and stateof-the-art clinical equipment and facilities. The nurses should be prepared to work within health care delivery system that is complex, involving myriad providers such as organization, institutions, groups and individuals, ,consumers and settings. Health care services in India are delivered by both the public and private sectors.
To begin with, nurses themselves have to be a holistic persons and they need to accept the responsibility of their own people and follow the practices of holistic health. Nurses responsibility is to bring awareness to positive life style. They need to encourage positive attitude towards living. Use of Holistic Health approach in specific conditions, e.g. Labour. Develop and initiate programme in different settings, like work places, screening, crisis situation.
Holistic health is actually an approach to life, “Holos” means entire or total. The Holistic means “whole” or complete. The concept of holistic health is not new. This ancient approach as far back as 5000 years ago in India and China, stressed living healthy way of life in harmony with nature. It is an approach to health based on a love of life, not a fear of death. It leads to high level of wellness for the total person throughout the total life style.
“A model is a theoretical way of
understanding a concept or ideas.
Models represent different ways of
approaching complex issues. Models
are used to understand the relationship
between these concepts and client’s
attitudes towards health and health
behaviors.”
Good health &wellbeing can be achieved by understanding the whole in a perspective that includes his various dimensions i.e. physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, political etc. Holistic health model of nursing attempts to create condition that promotes optimal health. In this model clients are involved I their healing process by assuming some responsibilities for their own health maintenance. In this model nurses used some effective, economical, non-pharmacological compliment of traditional medical care for recognize the natural healing abilities of body i.e. music therapy, reminiscence, relaxation therapy, therapeutic touch and guided imagery.
“Holistic approach to health insists that total good health and well being can be achieved by understanding the whole person in a perspective that includes his physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions”.
Individual is viewed as biopsychosocial being in continuous interaction with the environment. The biopsychosocial view considers a human being as the total interaction of biological, psychological and social aspects. When all aspects are completely balanced the person experiences an excellent state of health. Potential alterations in health exist when any of these areas of the being becomes less stable.
The individual according to Indian scriptures is „Prakriti‟ and „Purusha‟. Nature (Prakriti) is said to be the formation of body and „Purusha‟ the soul. Spirit is the cause of expression of pleasure and pain guided by mind, intellect, ego etc. Thus the individual is a whole with body, mind and soul and wholeness of the individual is our concern. This holistic approach gives rise to a new model of health care based on life energy rather than on a pathological concept of approach. Mind is the function of body. It does not exist apart from the body.
Our emotions and strong feeling affect the body inwardly and outwardly. Unpleasant emotions such as fear, anger, worry cause headache, insomnia, indigestion and various neurotic diseases. Deep thinking and concentration can cause physical fatigue. Mind motivates all physical and motor activities. Emotional conflicts are responsible to cause various illnesses such as hysteria, gastrointestinal troubles like peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, flatulence etc.
It is person oriented rather than disease oriented. Its objective is full, vibrant health (Positive wellness) not symptom amelioration. It respects the valid contribution of current medical science and practice. It is democratic and tolerant rather than authoritarian. It focuses on internal healing as a useful supplement to surgery, radiation, and drug therapy. It is trilevel, (physical, emotional, spiritual) not uni level (physical only). It is life cycle oriented (Longitudinal), not event specific (cross-sectional)
It focuses on primary prevention rather than crisis intervention. It places major responsibility for health on the client, not the professional. It is long term ongoing and continuous effort and is not fragmented. It recognizes that not all illness is “bad” and “to be eliminated” at the earliest possible moment. Some symptoms represent detoxification, or signal the need for balancing. It focuses on primary prevention rather than crisis intervention and it goes beyond prevention. It recognizes that medicine and health are not synonymous, but are vitally interdependent. It is a process of centering, integrating, balancing, harmonizing and vitalizing.
DIMENSIONS OF HOLISTIC HEALTH CARE :
Some principles : Have more natural food, fruits and vegetables and a balanced diet Avoid overcooking, too much oil, processed food, refined food, food additives/ preservatives Limit or avoid non-vegetarian food Drink lots of water Take high fiber roughage Enjoy eating
A keep healthy, one must remain always a little hungry. In addition to the quality of food it is also necessary to think of its quantity. Moreover in our society, regarding people with food is considered a token of affection. So we would be aware of the proper diet in proper age, time and amount.
“Prevention is better than cure”. In other words “don‟t eve fall ill”. But who wants to fall ill at all? Do you think it is up to us to decide whether to fall ill or not? We should maintain our physical fitness by : Maintaining personal hygiene Regulating diet Exercise, activity Yoga, meditation Regular adequate sleep Prevention of fatigue, over work etc.
Have a clear picture of life‟s goal and meaning of life, develop positive attitude Nurture faith dimensions, look at the bright side of life Develop caring relationship Restrictive positive environment Learn to say “no” when it is beyond your ability Have adequate sleep, rest, exercise and diet Bring variety in daily living/routine Be cheerful, laugh, smile have a sense of honour Relax, have a vacation Think that you are the unique person in this world Love and respect self. Observe thought patterns for few minutes daily Practice meditation for some time daily.
Man can not live without even one of essential elements of life – air, water and sunlight. It should be realized that humans need to co-exit in harmony with our natural environment in order to survive. Unfortunately, our environment is deteriorating day by day until one day it will become a threat at to our human existence. Today the main causes of human deaths are cancer and diseases of heart and brain. Survey shows that 75% of cancer is caused by environmental pollution and various carcinogenic chemicals absorbed by human.
Health care providers are seeking cost effective ways to deliver an ever increasing range of services to the diverse needs of consumers. Consumers are demanding greater accessibility to quality health care services at affordable costs. Nursing is still striving not only to establish itself as a reputed profession but also as a major component of Indian health care delivery system. Nursing need to be theoretically and practically equipped with use of technological advances, biomedical research and stateof-the-art clinical equipment and facilities. The nurses should be prepared to work within health care delivery system that is complex, involving myriad providers such as organization, institutions, groups and individuals, ,consumers and settings. Health care services in India are delivered by both the public and private sectors.
To begin with, nurses themselves have to be a holistic persons and they need to accept the responsibility of their own people and follow the practices of holistic health. Nurses responsibility is to bring awareness to positive life style. They need to encourage positive attitude towards living. Use of Holistic Health approach in specific conditions, e.g. Labour. Develop and initiate programme in different settings, like work places, screening, crisis situation.
