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Reflective Journals
Reflective Journal 1
In the first three workshops, I learnt about three topics which were well-being and
wellness, global public health and health problems as social issues. However after
reading each chapter, I found that the chapters on well-being and wellness and
global public health gave more insight into the issue of health, which is why I will be
reflecting on these issues.
The focus of the second workshop was well-being and wellness. In the textbook,
Second Opinion by John Germov well-being or wellness is defined as the state of
feeling well and being in good health, or experiencing a prosperous condition, with a
particular emphasis on the moral or physical welfare or a person or community
(Germov, 2014, p.41). During the workshop I broadened my knowledge and
understanding of health, well-being and wellness. This was achieved ty having a
class discussion about the differences between health and well-being or wellness
and watching some videos about the health and well-being of different people in
different countries. I learnt so much from watching the videos and listening to other
peoples opinions. Some of the things I learnt were that health and well-being or
wellness are interrelated, each person views health and well-being or wellness
differently and the level of health and well-being or wellness differs in various
countries such as China and Cuba which was portrayed in the class videos. The
problems in China and Cuba were poor hygiene and sanitation, poor working
conditions, low wages and the mistreatment of women and girls physically and
sexually. The videos gave me empathy for the people living with poor health and a
low level of well-being or wellness because both videos made me realise how lucky
and fortunate I am to be a part of a healthy and happy country in the whole. It has
made me realise that not every country or group of people experiences an adequate
level of health and well-being or wellness primarily because of their financial
situation.
The focus of the third workshop was Global Public Health. In the textbook, Second
Opinion by John Germov global public health or inequality is defined as inequalities
between countries or grouping different countries together based on their living
standards and their socio-economic status. It is also defined as classifying
countries based on their income whether it be high or low (Germov, 2014, p.65).
The workshop enabled me to broaden my understanding of global public health. The
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Reflective Journals
videos depicted poor hygiene and waste disposal practices and poor management of
products by production companies. The videos created in-depth discussion in our
workshop about the varied levels of global public health for each community in both
high and low income countries. Some examples of the things I learnt were that
global public health relies on adequate health practices or methods such as
medicine, global public health is about all countries, their population and the
environment and the effect global public health has on different groups of people
such as the economically disadvantaged. Poor education opportunities in these
countries do not assist in improving good health practices. The videos made me self
reflect on what I do because they showed that people, including me need to gain a
better understanding of our social and moral obligations to make change. This made
me realise that global public health isnt just about the health of people in developing
or low income countries, its about the health of people in developed or high income
countries positively impacting on poorer countries.
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Reference List
Germov, J, (2014), Chapter 3: Well-being and wellness, Australia, Oxford University
Press.
Germov, J, (2014), Chapter 4: Global Public Health, Australia, Oxford University
Press.
Sophie Patton
Reflective Journals
Reflective Journal 2
Each of the health workshops have enabled me to gain a better understanding of the
issues that affect both the local and global community and contribute to my changing
understanding of health. Some of these issues include; Class Health, Gendered
Health and Food, Health and Social Wellbeing.
The workshop on class health gave me a great insight into the class origins of health
inequality and the importance of class in a society. The chapter reading improved
my understanding of the impact of class inequality in Australia and their differences.
According to John Germovs book, Second Opinion, class and health is defined
according to the following characteristics: ownership and control of scarce economic
resources; ownership of marketable skills and qualifications; and wage labour. I
believe that John Germovs definition of class and health is accurate. However, I
believe that class health is defined based on a persons socio-economic status,
income and role in society.
In the workshop on class health, I learnt a great deal about the impact of high and
low income countries on health. Participating in a game that ranked people based
on their class was valuable. This was achieved by splitting people into 3 groups, the
triangles, circles and squares. The squares represented the ruling class, the circles
represented the middle class and the triangles represented the poor. This activity
made it easier for me to understand the significance of ranking people based on their
class and how it can affect their health. Being more aware of how class can
contribute to poor health made me realise how fortunate I am to be part of a caring,
supportive and generous community. My life experiences that relate to this issue
include; having adequate living conditions, access to a decent education and the
ability to be independent. These life experiences make me realise that I am
extremely fortunate to be part of a community that has all the basic necessities
needed for survival and is capable of providing their children with a decent
education. I believe that class health is still an issue, especially for people in third
world countries. There is an unequal distribution of food, water and shelter between
classes that contributes to class health issues, along with different levels of
education and awareness of health issues between classes.
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Social Wellbeing is defined based on the idea that a medical or nutritional science
perspective of food, health and social factors influence our eating habits. I believe
that John Germovs definition of Food, Health and Social Wellbeing is accurate.
However, I think that Food, Health and Social Wellbeing is defined based on a
persons diet and lifestyle choices, level of physical activity and interaction with
others.
During the Food, Health and Social Wellbeing workshop, I learnt a lot about social
appetite and how it is linked to food production, distribution and consumption. I
gained this knowledge by participating in various group discussions and activities.
An activity I participated in was a group task that involved discovering the link
between social appetite and food production, distribution and consumption in both
high and low income countries. The chosen activities made it easier for me to
understand how Food, Health and Social Wellbeing affects people and their health.
My individual experiences that relate to this issue are the same as the ones that
relate to gendered health. These individual experiences make me realise that I am
able to live a very happy, healthy and active life. So therefore, I believe that Food,
Health and Social Wellbeing is still an issue, particularly for people living in less
developed and economically stable countries.
Words: 985
Reference List
Germov, J, (2014), Second Opinion, Chapter 5: The Class Origins of Health
Inequality, 5th edu, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oxford University Press.
Germov, J, (2014), Second Opinion, Chapter 7: Gendered Health, 5 th edu, South
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oxford University Press.
Germov, J, (2014), Second Opinion, Chapter 11: The Social Appetite: A Sociological
Approach to Food and Nutrition, 5th edu, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oxford
University Press.
Sophie Patton
Reflective Journals
Reflective Journal 3
All the health workshops have enabled me to expand my knowledge and develop a
better understanding of health. The topics I will be focusing on include; Indigenous
Health, Power, Politics and Health Care and Health Education and Health Promotion.
A topic that I enjoyed learning about during this semester was Indigenous Health. It
gave me a better perspective about the health differences for both indigenous and
non-indigenous people. Participating in the class discussions and watching a video
about indigenous ill-health assisted my understanding of these differences. The
workshop on Indigenous Health gave me an understanding of how Indigenous
people lack access to a range of health services and medical professionals in
comparison to non-indigenous people who have the financial capacity to access
these services. It also made me more aware of how different cultures and lifestyles
affect the health of every person in a community. The chapter reading was greatly
insightful into the significance of Indigenous health inequality. Life expectancy for
Indigenous Australian males and females was on average 11.5 and 9.7 years less
than non-indigenous Australians (John Germov, Second Opinion, p149). The
reading also enabled me to develop my understanding of the social production of
Indigenous ill-health, colonialism and dispossession. I also learnt a great deal about
institutionalisation and the history and political economy of alcohol in Indigenous
Australia. A research survey showed that 24.5 per cent of Indigenous people do not
drink; 24.6 per cent drink at levels likely to cause high risk to their health in the short
term; and 31.0 per cent drink at levels likely to cause high risk to their health in the
long term (John Germov, Second Opinion, p149). After reading this chapter, I have
learnt a lot about the impact of indigenous health inequality on indigenous people
and their communities. I have also been able to develop a better understanding of
Indigenous health and the inequality of health for indigenous people compared with
non-indigenous people.
According to John Germov, Indigenous health inequality is referred to as a range of
health inequalities faced by Indigenous people (Second Opinion, p148). I believe
that his view on Indigenous health inequality is accurate. However, in my opinion,
Indigenous health inequality refers to the idea that Indigenous people arent being
provided with the same level of health care as non-indigenous people. These
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Reflective Journals
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Reference list
Germov, J, (2014), Second Opinion, Chapter 8: Indigenous Health: The Perpetuation
of Inequality, 5th edu, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oxford University Press.
Germov, J, (2014), Second Opinion, Chapter 19: Power, Politics and Health Care, 5 th
edu, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oxford University Press.
Germov, J, (2014), Second Opinion, Chapter 24: A Sociology of Health Promotion, 5 th
edu, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oxford University Press.