Wellness Theory Essay Example

Non-Nursing Theorist

Halbert Dunn was born in 1896 in the United States. He was a medical practitioner by profession who had a great passion for biostatistics (Demiris et al., 2013). During his professional life, he served in various capacities in various departments. He was one of the pioneers of the vital statistics system of the United States. Additionally, He is credited for his wellness movement that tried to explain the underlying differences between good health and high-level wellness. This paper discusses the origin of wellness, its major precepts, and its current applications.

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Origin of the Theory

Freedman (2015) recognizes that wellness can be traced to the pre-modern era in which traditional cultures had elaborate healthcare that highly valued and respected the balance of human mind, spirit, and body and human health. It is imperative to understand that traditional healthcare practices emphasized on healthy lifestyle such as physical activity, ethical behavior, quality sleep, and proper nutrition among others. However, according to Stanciulescu, Diaconescu, and Diaconescu (2015), Halbert Dunn is widely recognized for his modern era wellness campaigns in the 1960s in which he tried to explain the difference between good health and high-level wellness. He developed a health grid model that focused on how external factors impact the quality of life and wellness of an individual.

Major Precepts of Wellness

One major precept of wellness is that individuals should play a key role in maintaining and improving their own health. Another precept of wellness is that it is a comprehensive process that aims at positively empowering individuals to take self-responsibility and do proactive activities or actions that are aimed at restoring their health. In addition, wellness is only achievable if physical, spiritual, and mental activities co-ordinate to enhance healthcare (Pronk, 2014).

Current Application of Wellness

Since its inception, wellness programs have found their way in the modern world. Presently, wellness programs are prevalent in workplaces and coaching. To begin with, in the corporate world, companies have incorporated wellness programs to care for their workers and to reduce health insurance costs (Mattke, Schnyer, & Van Busum, 2013). It is imperative to also understand that wellness is used in life coaching to help clients to recover as well as to discover their abilities for a better lifestyle change.

Conclusion

Generally, wellness programs began way back before the contemporary era of medicine. However, in the 20th century, there were widespread wellness campaigns spearheaded by Halbert Dunn. These wellness programs have distinct principles and are aimed at ensuring quality of life to people. It is therefore prudent for every organization to adopt a wellness program.

References

Demiris, G., Thompson, H. J., Reeder, B., Wilamowska, K., & Zaslavsky, O. (2013). Using informatics to capture older adults' wellness. International journal of medical informatics, 82(11), e232-e241.

Freedman, P. (2015). Health, wellness and the allure of spices in the middle ages. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 167, 47-53.

Mattke, S., Schnyer, C., & Van Busum, K. R. (2013). A review of the US workplace wellness market. Rand health quarterly, 2(4), 201-237.

Pronk, N. (2014). Best practice design principles of worksite health and wellness programs. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 18(1), 42-46.

Stanciulescu, G. C., Diaconescu, G. N., & Diaconescu, D. M. (2015). Health, Spa, Wellness Tourism. What is the Difference?. Knowledge Horizons. Economics, 7(3), 158.