Salutogenesis is a concept that focuses on positive wellbeing
as a way to enhance overall quality of life. It was introduced in 1979 as the
study of health development. The goal is to expand the focus of health research
and pay more attention to positive health instead of negative health. Current
medical practice focuses heavily on negative health by studying pathogenesis
(development of disease). Salutogenesis is all about the origins of health. It
is the idea that instead of waiting to get sick to get treatment, live a
healthy life that will decrease the severity and instances of disease.
اضافة اعلان
Salutogenesis works proactively and prospectively by helping
people improve their physical, mental, and social well-being which will improve
their health as a result. Studies have shown that improving overall well-being
can put you at lower risk for disease. The salutogenic model was developed to study
the relationship between health and aspects of wellness such as coping with
stress. Research is centered around how a sense of coherence (thinking
logically) relates to diseases and illness. The World Health Organization (WHO)
recognized that preserving health is a holistic approach that involves many
aspects of well-being such as physical, social, mental, and spiritual. Good
overall health can be achieved through both positive (salutogensis) and
negative (pathogenesis) aspects of health.
Sense of coherence (SOC)
The SOC is defined as “the way of
perceiving life and ability to manage successfully the infinite number of
stressors that one encounters in one's life”. Through our sense of coherence,
we can perceive that we, alone, can manage any, and all the stressors we may be
faced with. The SOC measures how people view life and manage stressful
situations. This concept was developed to explain why some people get sick when
exposed to stress while others stay healthy. Those with a higher SOC are more
optimistic and have a higher sense of control. This better equips them to
handle any stress that may come their way. SOC can be learned and developed
over a lifetime and fluctuates from time to time.
There are three components of SOC.
The first is comprehensibility. This is a cognitive aspect which refers to how
well a person reacts to internal and external stimuli. It is the ability to
understand situations in a rational way despite how difficult they may be. The
second is manageability which talks about how well we are able to seek help
when needed to manage certain stimuli. For instance, being able to reach out to
a family member or friend when in need of help coping rather than struggling
through it alone. Improving manageability can also be done alone by searching
for positive ways to solve problems. The third aspect of sense of coherence is
meaningfulness which is considered a motivational aspect. Feeling like your
life has some kind of emotional meaning can come into play when facing certain
challenges.
Sense of coherence was built on the
idea of salutogenesis and has a lot to do with individual coping mechanisms.
This involves the aspects of wellness such as spirituality, which can increase
sense of coherence by helping with stress management. This is also true for social
as well as physical wellness. Salutogenesis focuses on using different aspects
of wellness to improve quality of life and decrease prevalence of certain
diseases. As we know, stress can cause many diseases such as obesity, heart
disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Working to increase sense of coherence and
stress management can prevent health problems both short and long term.
General resistance resources (GRR)
There are certain aspects that make
it easier to cope with stress and view life as understandable and structured.
Those factors can be biological, material, and psychosocial. Some examples
include:
• Money
• Knowledge and intelligence
• Experience
• Self-esteem
• Healthy behaviour
• Social support
• Ego/identity
• Commitment and cohesion with one’s cultural roots
• Cultural stability
• Ritualistic activities
• Religion and philosophy (e.g., stable set of answers to life’s perplexities)
• Genetic factors
• Preventive health orientation
Someone with access to
those resources has a better chance of dealing with stress and have a higher
sense of coherence. Resistance resources can be used as a crutch, to help
increase your ability to cope, reducing stress and improving quality of life.
Salutogenesis in Jordan and
SWPS
The salutogenic wellness
promotion scale (SWPS) is a scale that measures health and can demonstrate that
participating in health-promoting behaviour can improve overall health and lead
to fewer health problems An Arabic version of the SWPS was recently validated
using a study done on Jordanian university students. The culture from which college students in Jordan were
raised and educated is unique and the decisions and choices made by
participants in this study reflected their cultural background. The differences
between the original SWPS (developed and validated in the US) and the Arabic
version of the tool (tested in Jordan) is likely due to the cultural and social
differences. Salutogenesis studies are still being conducted as
more research is needed to understand this approach fully.
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