It is worth noting that achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and wellness for all individuals is an important part of the sustainable development agenda. Many population groups need affordable healthcare services and education to achieve the required level of health literacy and disease prevention (Platt, Outlay, Sarkar, & Karnes, 2015). Ensuring a healthy lifestyle and promoting well-being for people of all ages is essential to creating a prosperous society. The purpose of the future project will be to investigate the potential of technological applications in achieving and supporting the wellness of people.
Importance
“Health” and “wellness” are two terms that are often regarded as synonyms; however, they encompass different aspects of human life. According to the World Health Organization (2019), “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (para. 1). That is, being healthy implies not only the absence of physical illnesses but also the emotional stability and social fitness of a person. Meanwhile, wellness is an individual’s intention to achieve a healthier way of living and their understanding of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, it may be stated that the two terms support and develop the domains of one another. The goal of a person is to be healthy while the method used to attain this objective reflects their views of wellness.
The awareness of the significance of health and wellness is increasing steadily. The growing number of literature and various researches on how individuals can relieve stress, nurture their body with food, lead a more balanced lifestyle are evidence to that statement. People started to realize that inadequate food consumption, substance use, improper workout regime, ignorance in terms of sustaining water balance, and other factors will inevitably result in repercussions that they will experience later in life. This understanding has already caused a dramatic shift towards healthier living and the promotion of wellness. New trends and tendencies emerge constantly, businesses promote healthier choices, and large-scale corporations encourage awareness and greater health literacy (Platt et al., 2015). On the local level, one can notice that small garage gyms open their doors to an increasing number of people of different ages. Furthermore, technological advances, such as new apps, devices, and software, additionally promote wellness and health. Moreover, they allow different population groups to become health-literate easier and make ways of achieving better health available to people.
At the same time, trends towards a healthier lifestyle affect not only individuals but also businesses and the government. Society creates a demand for restaurants that serve healthy foods and drinks. Companies constantly rethink their policies and offerings so that they can address the changing needs of people (Platt et al., 2015). In addition, the government reacts to the wishes and concerns of people by initiating policies that would protect their health and support wellness. The state makes efforts to reduce healthcare costs and develops initiatives to provide various population groups with equal access to healthcare services.
Social Practices
Interestingly, social practices and ideas of wellness have been shaping one another since the olden days. This process started from holistic systems designed to create harmony between spirit, mind, and body tailored to each person’s goals (such as exercise, social interaction, and so on). At present, these practices are known as yoga and meditation, which are becoming increasingly popular (Global Wellness Institute, n.d.). Moreover, social practices have affected the daily practice of people so that individuals started to attribute particular importance to their exercise routine, nutrition, and work-life balance. Special attention is given to housing since people who are continually exposed to poor living conditions have a higher risk of developing health problems. The combination of these factors ensures that a person can have a healthy life that brings happiness and fulfillment.
In the same manner, the ideas of wellness have shaped social practices. People struggling with obesity, mental and psychological problems, require assistance from the side of healthcare institutions so that they can receive quality help from counselors and other healthcare professionals. On this journey, one of the main goals is to address the priority problem without causing new challenges that may occur due to the low health literacy of people. Healthcare professionals play a primary role in ensuring that health and wellness are achieved using adequate and evidence-based methods. Moreover, financial wellness programs are gaining immense popularity in the US market (GlobeNewswire, 2018). These initiatives are designed to offer resources and tools that provide support to the employees. Regular healthcare services accompanied by various wellness programs will inevitably produce better results in the long term.
Discipline of Study
Wellness has influenced the professional field of Information Systems heavily. There is an evident need to remain informed in terms of advancements in technology in the health and wellness industry. New applications and devices appear in the market constantly, and each of them addresses the aspects of health and wellness that require improvement. However, the focus has shifted towards the individual characteristics and requirements of every person (Pomputius, 2018). Contemporary services allow customizing the features to address the specific needs of different people. Technology combined with Information Systems is evolving uninterruptedly to help with the health and wellness in all social aspects of human life (Pomputius, 2018). Every individual can now find apps that would help them keep track of calorie consumption, help them fall asleep, assist with meditation and stress management, and so on. Therefore, wellness has influenced Information Systems so that they can track and improve various aspects of an individual’s well-being in a personalized manner.
References
Global Wellness Institute. (n.d.). History of wellness. Web.
GlobeNewswire. (2018). United States corporate wellness market – $13 billion outlook and forecast 2018-2023. Web.
Platt, A., Outlay, C., Sarkar, P., & Karnes, S. (2015). Evaluating user needs in wellness apps. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 32(2), 119-131.
Pomputius, A. F. (2018). Mind over matter: Using technology to improve wellness. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 37(2), 177-183.
World Health Organization. (2019). Constitution. Web.