Aviva Directory » Health & Well-Being

Health, wellness, well-being, and medical care are the focus of this portion of our web guide.

Health, wellness, and well-being are often used as synonyms and, in some contexts, this would be appropriate.

Well-being touches on many of the aspects of human life and, as it involves a strong emotional and mental component, issues of well-being are diverse. Issues affecting well-being could include financial stress, social isolation, poor living conditions, poor health, and family issues. Because of this, it is crucial to not only nurture wellness, through exercise, a healthy diet, supplements, and so on, but to also cultivate skills, hobbies, and relationships that encourage a well-rounded life. Emotional well-being is every bit as important as physical well-being.

Wellness refers to a set of habits and behaviors, while well-being is a state of mind. In that way, wellness contributes to well-being, and a sense of well-being encourages better wellness habits. Wellness focuses on physical health, while well-being emphasizes emotional health.

There are five elements of well-being contributing to a balanced life: career well-being, social well-being, financial well-being, physical well-being, and community well-being. Wellness and well-being work together to improve your health and elevate how you feel about your life.

Health is a state where an individual's physical body is free from disease, while wellness is an overall balance of in the individual's physical, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, and occupational well-being. Wellness has a direct influence on overall health.

Are there differences between health care and healthcare? Although the two are often used interchangeably, they actually have different meanings. Healthcare is a closed compound word that refers to the business, institution, or activity offering medical services, or to the set of medical services that an organization, state, or country provides.

On the other hand, health care refers to the efforts made by trained and licensed professionals to restore or maintain well-being. While similar in meaning, the two-worded term does not include the entire system, institution, or industry. Health care is used when referring to the set of actions by a person to maintain or improve a patient's health. In that sense, health care is similar to phrases like patient care, medical care, and preventative care. As health care is not an adjective, it would be improper to refer to the health care industry. On the other hand, healthcare is both a noun and an adjective.

Health care and medical care are closely related, but distinct services, each requiring different skill sets. While medical care is focused on treating physical illnesses, health care takes a wider approach, addressing the larger area of well-being.

Medical care is what physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other clinicians do every day in offices, hospitals, surgical centers, clinics, and labs.

Physicians, surgeons, obstetricians, optometrists, psychologists, psychiatrists, dentists, optometrists, veterinarians, nurses, internists, paramedics, radiologists, dieticians, pharmacists, physical therapists, midwives, doctor's assistants, and other clinicians, as well as the hospitals, surgical centers, clinics, laboratories, offices, ambulances, and other places where they work, are all part of the larger healthcare industry.

Also known as the medical industry or the health economy, the healthcare industry is made up of companies, institutions, and organizations that provide services, manufacture pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, and provide healthcare-related support services.

The United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification categorizes the healthcare industry as consisting of three main elements: hospital activities, medical and dental practice activities, and other human health activities. The third element includes the professional activities of nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, scientific or diagnostic laboratories, pathology clinics, residential health facilities, or other allied health professions, which include the fields of optometry, hydrotherapy, medical massage, yoga therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and other healthcare providers.

A healthcare provider is an institution, such as a hospital or clinic, or a person, such as a physician or a nurse, that provides preventative, curative, promotional, rehabilitative, or palliative care services to individuals, families, or communities.

We have elected to include veterinary medicine in this tree of our web guide, as well as other topics related to health, well-being, and medical care, including emergency services, such as emergency medical services, police services, and fire services.

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