INTERNAL CAPABILITY 2: HEALTH KNOWLEDGE

Knowing about your health and knowing how to be healthy

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Overview

Agency 1. Knowledge of one's own health and health conditions

Agency 2. General knowledge of health and disease, preventive measures to protect health, and risk factors for poor health

Agency 3. Knowledge of costs and benefits of health behaviors, lifestyles, exposures

Agency 4. Knowledge of how to acquire health information and knowledge

What is it?

The internal capability of health knowledge encompasses knowledge about health and knowledge of how to achieve health across four domains. (1) Knowing about one's specific personal health, including health history and current health conditions, as well as knowing how to manage one's health. (2) Knowing about health in general, such as preventative measures that help to protect health and risk factors that may lead to poor health. (3) Knowing about the health-related costs and benefits of a given action, lifestyle, or exposure. (4) Knowing how to acquire health knowledge, including where to go with questions and all the resources that are available to help answer questions.

Why is it important?

Health knowledge is important because it helps us understand our health and how to improve it, understand ourselves as agents (e.g., strengths and weaknesses) and how to become more capable, and understand what can and needs to be done in the future to develop our health capabilities and flourish.

What does it look like?

Someone with a high degree of health knowledge would have an accurate and comprehensive grasp of their own personal health history and current health conditions, as well as how to take care of their specific health situation according to their current and future demographic age categories. It includes knowledge about how to maintain and improve one’s health throughout the full life course. They would also have generalized health knowledge, such as knowledge about proper diet, sleep, exercise, hand-washing, immunization, stress management, and know about the various costs and benefits of choosing to adopt or to neglect health behaviors. Finally, a strong health knowledge capability includes knowing how and where to find credible health information and knowledge, such as through one's health care provider, the Internet, journals and books, or special interest groups. For children, this looks like a partnership between children, parents, media, and adult teachers and mentors to transfer health knowledge to children for their own edification.

How do I do it?

The capability of health knowledge can be developed through education, which may come from a variety of credible sources. Education can be found in formal institutions, such as in schools, online classes, hospital classes, or community center classes. Education can also be found informally, such as talking with healthcare providers, support groups, accredited public health and healthcare agencies (e.g. CDC, NIH, WHO, academic institutions), and family and friends. Finally, education can also be developed through one’s own experiences, such as the first-hand, self-knowledge and support group knowledge that comes with dealing with a long-term, chronic health issue.

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