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Domain 2: Whole-person and Systems Approaches to Cultivate Wellness

Whole-person and Systems Approaches
to Cultivate Wellness

Course Description
Applying an Ecological approach and what we know about the Social Determinants of Health and different systems can help cultivate positive change within individuals, organizations, and communities. During this interactive course, we examine key theoretical and foundational tools and strategies that will support your efforts to impact well-being individually, in human support networks, and systematically.
Competencies & Learning Objectives
COMPETENCIES
This course supports the following competencies within the “Whole-person and Systems Approaches" domain of the NWI Wellness Promotion Competency Model:
    • Use an ecological approach (e.g., interactions among the individual, family, organization, community and social systems) to understand the ways dynamic systems impact an individual's experience of wellness.
    • Assess individual and/or group characteristics, interests, and needs using a multi-dimensional and ecological approach.
    • Identify health and wellness resources and materials that allow for an individual's self-discovery, self-knowledge, and self-direction.
    • Apply relevant theories and models to explain the integrated role of physical, social, intellectual, emotional, occupational, and spiritual aspects in the human pursuit and experience of wellness throughout the lifespan.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Following his course, you will be able to:
    • List factors of an ecological model.
    • Define the determinants of health.
    • Describe how applying an ecological approach and what we know about the Social Determinants of Health and different systems can improve individual wellness.
    • Use various assessment methods that incorporate strategies to identify needs of individuals and/or groups.
    • Identify key behaviors that outline the process of self-discovery, self-knowledge, and self-direction.
    • Determine methods to use the most useful health and wellness resources and materials for an individual’s self-discovery, self-knowledge, and self-direction.
    • Recognize the influence multiple dimensions of wellness have on an individual’s wellness throughout the lifespan.
    • Identify evidence-based resources, theories and models that inform well-promoting strategies.
    • Use basic constructs of appropriate theories and models to explain the integrated role of various dimensions of wellness.
Content Developer: Jane Ellery, PhD, CWP
Jane works at the intersection of Place, Health, and the Economy by focusing on collaborative change efforts, participatory approaches, and person-centered processes. After two decades working in prevention-related roles, Jane shifted from pathogenic interventions designed to keep people from getting sick to salutogenic initiatives that encourage living life to its fullest. She has a Doctorate in Public Health, graduate training in Clinical Exercise Physiology, and she is a Senior Fellow with the National Wellness Institute. Early retirement from her faculty role at Ball State has allowed her to pursue an innovative, consulting career focused on Healthy Placemaking with E2Praxis. Key to this work is connecting people and helping them develop a maker mindset...ready to “take action in the here and now.”
Content Developer: Pete Ellery, PhD, CWP
Pete works to develop socially and environmentally regenerative communities using community-centered, collaborative design processes. His current interests are focused on how we can develop “places” as educational, social, and economic opportunities and how these “places” can be used to foster thriving communities. Pete has his doctorate in physical education and recreation, specializing in adapted physical education, and is the Principal with E2Praxis.
This course was developed through a collaboration between
the 
National Wellness Institute and Butler's Division of Professional Studies.