In the event that the health authorities announce a new period of confinement due to the evolution of
the health crisis caused by COVID-19, the teaching staff will promptly communicate how this may effect
the teaching methodologies and activities as well as the assessment.
Medicine must take into account not only disease but also people's well-being. The well-being of populations is an indicator of population health that is increasingly of interest to both clinicians and epidemiologists, politicians, and public health technicians, as it is highly related not only to health promotion and prevention of disease, but also with functionality, health-related quality of life, and disease progression, including mortality and life expectancy.
In this course, the aim is to define what is well-being and what are the components that make up well-being, in what ways can it be measured with studies published worldwide and what relationship does well-being have with health, following the institutions and studies that have been interested about this theme.
Finally, it will also discuss how to intervene to improve the health of populations.
Pre-course requirements
This subject does not require any prerequisites for the student.
Reading ability in English, Spanish and Catalan as the bibliography and readings will be in these languages.
Objectives
Know what wellness is and what definitions have been used throughout history
Understand the components of well-being
Learn how important it is for the health of populations and individuals
Know how well-being has been measured in various countries and institutions
Learn about interventions that have been carried out to improve people's well-being
Learn to design an intervention to improve people's well-being
Competencies
04 - Develop professional practice with respect for patient autonomy, beliefs and culture.
06 - Develop professional practice with other health professionals, acquiring teamwork skills.
10 - To understand and recognise the agents and risk factors which determine health status, and learn how they determine the symptoms and natural development of acute or chronic diseases in individuals and populations.
11 - Understand and recognize the effects of growth, development and aging on the individual and their social environment.
25 - Recognize the determinants of public health; genetic and sex-dependent lifestyle, demographic, environmental, social, economic, psychological and cultural determinants.
27 - Recognize role in multidisciplinary teams, assuming leadership when appropriate, for the delivery of health care, such as interventions for health promotion.
CB-2 - To know how to apply and incorporate knowledge, an understanding of it and its scientific basis and the ability to solve problems in new and loosely defined environments, including multidisciplinary contexts that include both researchers and highly specialised professionals.
CB-4 - To be able to predict and control the evolution of complex situations through the development of new and innovative working methodologies adapted to the scientific / research, technological or specific professional field, which is generally multidisciplinary, within which they undertake their activities.
CTP-3 - To develop critical thinking and reasoning as well as self-assessment skills.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this subject, the student must be able to:
Recognize that health is a global dimension that includes not only disease, but also well-being and quality of life
Identify which components and determinants of well-being exist and the importance they present in people's health
Know that there are various ways to measure well-being
Recognize the strengths and limitations of well-being
Develop an intervention protocol to improve well-being
Critically analyze a wellness-based intervention
Syllabus
In this matter the following contents will be worked, among others:
Definitions of well-being
Measurement of population welfare
Components and determinants of well-being
Interventions based on population welfare
Practical application of wellness interventions
Teaching and learning activities
Evaluation systems and criteria
Bibliography and resources
World Health Organization (WHO). Measurement of and target-setting for well-being: an initiative by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Second meeting of the expert group Paris, France, 25–26 June 2012
Joseph Stiglitz. GDP is not a good measure of wellbeing – it's too materialistic. The Guardian. Fecha: 3/12/2018
Martín-María N, Miret M, Caballero FF, et al. The Impact of Subjective Well-being on Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies in the General Population. Psychosom Med. 2017;79(5):565-575. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000444
The New Economics Foundation (NEF). Measuring Well-being: A guide for practitioners. London (UK). Fecha: 07/2012