Individual Preventative Factors for Mental Illness
Summary:
Individual preventative factors refer to actions that individuals can take to prevent the spread of disease and illness. Adults as well as children can use these individual preventative factors to prevent from getting sick or diseases. As parents, is it important that we take these individual preventative factors to help our children stay healthy and clean. We need to teach them the importance of cleaning themselves and taking care of their bodies so they can be safe and take those hygienic matters into their adulthood.
Some hygienic and necessary things we need to teach our children include things like encouraging and helping children to wash their hands regularly, especially before eating, after using the bathroom, and after playing outside. This will prevent germs from all these places to get into their food or to get them sick. As we wash our hands, we are keeping from spreading germs into places we don’t need them. It is proven that handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), handwashing can reduce the spread of respiratory infections by 16-21%. It’s also important to teach children to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue or their elbow when they cough or sneeze. When coughing or sneezing, we spread so many germs, so teaching children to cough into their elbow will prevent the spread of germs or from getting other people sick. It's also important to make sure that children receive all recommended vaccinations. Vaccinations are one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Promoting healthy diet and exercise habits will help their body to be healthy and strong. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine can help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and getting regular physical activity can lower the risk of these diseases. It’s also important to start at a young age to get children into the habit of getting enough sleep so that they will realize how important it is in their childhood. Sleep plays an important role in maintaining overall health and preventing illness. Getting enough sleep can help boost the immune system, lower stress levels, and improve mental health. Educating children about disease outbreaks and preventative measures and encouraging them to take an active role in preventing illness will help them to know the importance of staying healthy. As a parent, you could also just make sure to supervise children when they play outside and take precautions during flu season so they can prevent getting any kind of sickness while they are too young. Constantly clean surfaces in our home so bacteria do not grow and cause any kind of sickness. Finally, as a parent, caregiver, or guardian it's necessary to model healthy behaviors and habits for children to follow. They love to copy people, so when they see you are using these habits of health, they will want to do it too.
Individual preventative factors can also refer to ways people can prevent or help mental health issues that may arise. Adults and children should study and know these individual preventative factors so they can prevent and stop these mental health issues. Especially with all the mental health problems arising today that lead to psychological and/or physical issues. As teachers and parents, we need to recognize and know these different factors so we can teach our students/children about them can prevent them from having mental health problems.
There are many individual preventative factors anyone can use or take to help prevent mental health issues. Simple things like getting enough sleep suggested for your age group is a major factor. Sleep can help as we develop physically, and mentally, and help our minds and bodies take a rest. As we get the right amount of sleep, it can reduce those mental health issues and help us to rest. Another preventative factor that is vital to your mental health is staying active. Staying active is good for your body and your brain. It can relieve stress and help you to get out of bed. Even going on a simple walk can improve your mental health as you go out into the world and get some fresh air. Lastly, make sure to make connections with others. Even if you are an introvert, it is said that human connections and relationships help our mindsets and improve mental health. As humans, we need special connections to others to help us feel loved and have a place in this world. As we take these individual preventative factors, we will see much improvement in our mental health and the ones of our children/students.
Resources:
- https://thrivingschools.kaiserpermanente.org/my-kid-is-sick-again-tips-for-keeping-kids-healthy/
- https://familydoctor.org/kids-passing-on-healthy-habits-to-your-children/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/cold-flu-secrets
- - http://www.bcmhsus.ca/about/news-stories/stories/10-tips-to-boost-your-mental-health
Connections to Education:
As you are a teacher in the classroom you need to use these individual preventative factors with the students. With new students coming in every year, there are so many sicknesses passed around. As we teach our students these preventative factors, we can prevent sicknesses from going around and have a healthy class environment. You can set an example of keeping up good mental health by always being present and taking care of yourself. Come to your classroom with the mental health factors we talked about and be ready to teach.
Ask the Teacher:
I asked my friend who is a 1st grade teacher how she uses this in her classroom. She said that her most important tool is giving little reminders here and there. When she has students cough or sneeze without covering their mouths, she gives them a little verbal reminder to cover their cough. As she does this, they remember to do it and will implement it in the classroom. The same goes for if they don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom or before snack time. As she does this, her classroom stays free of germs. They also teach students individual preventative factors through social-emotional learning. They teach students about the different mental health problems that may arise and how we can deal with them or prevent them.
Current Events
In today's world, we still have cases of COVID-19 going around. In schools, they are still implementing safety precautions if someone gets COVID to prevent the spread and to keep everyone safe. Schools follow the CDC guidelines and help prevent the spread as they are still in session. Read more at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html%20.
Today, mental health is an occurring problem, especially after the pandemic. Research has been made about how much it has arisen in the past few years. Here is an article about how mental health affected students through the pandemic: https://namica.org/blog/impact-on-the-mental-health-of-students-during-covid-19/
Vocabulary
- Individual Preventative Factors: Ways people can prevent from getting diseases and sicknesses.
Summary:
Individual preventative factors are things you can do to prevent you from getting sick. Parents need to teach their kids these things so they can develop healthy habits at a young age that will help them later in life. Parents can teach small and simple things like washing hands, getting vaccines, eating healthy, and doing exercise.
Warnings:
Some people may disagree with the content about vaccinations and how they can help you stay healthy. I got my information from the resources provided if you want to read more about it. Taking all these precautions won’t determine that you won’t get sick. All of these procedures help prevent it but won’t for sure make it so you don’t get sick.
This content is provided to you freely by BYU-I Books.
Access it online or download it at https://books.byui.edu/development_motivati/jpLfhofg.