maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental

levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top.[1][6]

The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "d-
needs": esteem , friendship and love, security, and physical needs. With the exception of the most fundamental
(physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual
feels anxious and tense. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual
will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher level needs. Maslow also coined the term
Metamotivation to describe the motivation of people who go beyond the scope of the basic needs and strive for
constant betterment.[7] Metamotivated people are driven by B-needs (Being Needs), instead of deficiency needs (D-
Needs).

Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of
an organism, often implicitly human.

At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as "a state of
complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".[1][2]

The Six Dimensions of Health

Physical
ability of human body structure to function properly

Social
ability to interact with other individuals

Mental
ability to process information and act properly

Emotional
ability to cope, adjust, and adapt

Spiritual
belief in some force or dynamic other than humans

Environmental
comprised of

• external: one's surroundings, (e.g., habitat, occupation) and

• internal: a individuals internal structure (e.g., genetics)

Health promotion theories and models

There are a number of significant theories and models that underpin the practice of
health promotion. It would be useful to make a differentiation between theories and
models.

The following information has been adapted from Theory at a glance. A guide for
health promotion practice. (Second edition). (US Department of Health and Human
Services. National Institutes of Health. 2005.) For further information go to
www.nci.nih.gov/theory
Theory
• An integrated set of propositions that serves as an explanation for a
phenomenon
• Introduced after a phenomenon has already revealed a systematic set of
 uniformities

• A systematic arrangement of fundamental principles that provide a basis

for explaining certain happenings of life
Examples: Social Cognitive Theory, Theory of Planned Behaviour
Model
• A subclass of a theory. It provides a plan for investigating and or
addressing a phenomenon
• Does not attempt to explain the processes underlying learning, but only to
represent them

• Provides the vehicle for applying the theories

Examples: Health Belief Model, Transtheoretical Model

The main models and theories utilised can be summarised as follows:

1. Those theories that attempt to explain health behaviour and health behaviour
change by focusing on the individual.
Examples include:
• Health Belief Model
• Theory of Reasoned Action
• Transtheoretical (stages of change ) Model

• Social Learning Theory

2. Theories that explain change in communities and community action for health.
Examples include:
• Community mobilisation
o social planning
o social action
o community development

• Diffusion of innovation
3. Models that explain changes in organisations and the creation of health-
supportive organisational practices.
Examples include:
Theories of organisational change

Illness (sometimes referred to as ill-health or ailment) is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered a
synonym for disease.[1] Others maintain that fine distinctions exist.[2] Some have described illness as the subjective
perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease.[3]

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition
associated with specific symptoms and signs.[1][2] It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it
may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. In humans, "disease" is often used more broadly
to refer to any condition that causes pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and/or death to the person afflicted, or
similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes includes injuries, disabilities,
disorders, syndromes, infections. Isolated symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and
function, while in other contexts and for other purposes these may be considered distinguishable categories. A diseased
body is quite often not only because of some dysfunction of a particular organ but can also be because of a state of
mind of the affected person who is not at ease with a particular state of its body.

Sickness is a coordinated set of adaptive behavioral changes that develop in ill individuals during the course of an
infection. [1] They usually (but not necessarily)[2] accompany fever and aid survival. Such illness responses include
lethargy, depression, anxiety, loss of appetite,[3][4] sleepiness,[5] hyperalgesia[6], reduction in grooming[1][7] and failure to
concentrate.[8] Sickness behavior is a motivational state that reorganizes the organism's priorities to cope with infectious
pathogens.[9][10] It has been suggested as relevant to understanding depression, and some aspects of the suffering that
occurs in cancer.