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Healthy practices

Healthy Practices as Skills & Outcome Indicators

Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

William James

Introduction

This page includes skill and outcome indicators for healthy practices. Skills include: advocacy, goal setting, communication, decision making, analyzing influences, accessing information, refusal skills, self-management, conflict resolution, and stress management.

The following outcomes may be used as indicators to assess students' understanding of each skill.

Advocacy

This skill calls for the use of persuasion to promote positive health choices personally and for others. Outcome indicators:

  • States a clear understandable position
  • Position can be interpreted as health-enhancing
  • Supports a position with accurate and relevant information
  • Interacts with awareness of the audience
  • Encourages others to make healthy choices
  • Has passion or conviction for the position

Goal Setting see also goal setting, self-efficacy, & self-regulation

Goal setting is an interactive process for individuals. It requires skill in planning and revision through-out the application of the process.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Focuses on the situation
  • Selects a goal by gathering and analyzing appropriate information for a variety of options and their consequences
  • States a goal clearly
  • Goal is realistic and attainable
  • Selects an effective strategy and plan to implement to achieve the goal
  • Monitors, evaluates, and reflects on the plan and its implementation and makes adjustments as necessary

Communication

This skill is an interactive process between and among individuals to clarify ideas, thoughts, needs, and feelings.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Has a clear and organized message
  • Interactions among individuals assists their understanding of the message
  • Uses appropriate listening skills
  • Distinguishes between supported factual information and beliefs or emotional feelings by stating "I think" or "I feel" or using I statements or I messages
  • Uses a respectful tone
  • Uses appropriate body language
  • Supports the message with research, logical reasoning, and meaningful explanations

Decision Making see also 8 step process

This skill requires speculation into the future based on a particular action. Students speculate if this action is taken then that result can be expected. The evaluation of potential results in a decision.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Focuses on the situation.
  • Clearly describes the situation.
  • Gathers relevant reliable information. Recognizes the influence of values on possible decisions.
  • Analyzes gathered information.
  • Identifies alternative ideas or actions based on the collected information.
  • Generates a variety of possible options.
  • Generates consequences for all options.
  • Evaluates and decide on a solution and process for implementation.
  • Implements the decision.
  • Evaluates the implementation.
  • Avoids confusion or intimidation and assists others to understand and move the decision making process toward a healthy conclusion that might benefit the welfare of others and the Earth.

Analyzing Influences

This skill involves analysis of the dynamic factors of families, media, peers, personal interests, and pressures that affect health decisions.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Identifies and analyzes external and internal conditions and how they vary.
  • Identifies a variety of biases and influences that affect decision making.
  • Interprets how conditions and influences impact relationships and uses this information to better make decisions, set and achieve goals, communicate, and advocate.

Accessing Information

This skill addresses the important steps to take to get valid health information and appropriate health services.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Cites specific sources.
  • Evaluates the validity of all sources.
  • Provides explanations for the reliability of sources.
  • Accesses appropriate community resources to achieve specific needs.
  • Determines specific types of help available from different sources.

Refusal Skills

This skill involves specific strategies to refuse involvement in behaviors which may risk health.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Includes of the word "no" in a refusal response.
  • Provides an explanation of why in the refusal response.
  • Offers appropriate alternatives in place of the proposed activity that is being rejected.
  • Uses body language that supports the communication of refusal.
  • Includes a description of "walking away" from the situation.

Self-Management Skills

This skill is the actual practice of healthy behaviors.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Demonstrates healthy behaviors and habits.
  • Identifies protective behaviors (diet, exercise, first aid techniques, safety steps for poison, fire, driving, seat belt usage, cell phone use, texting and driving, alcohol use, risk management) to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
  • Describe and enact procedures for protective behaviors (how to select and eat healthy, how to exercise, how to administer first aid, how to create safe environments, ...)

Conflict Resolution
see also Conflict resolution & 6 step conflict resolution

This skill involves specific strategies to resolve conflicts peacefully.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Describes the problem
  • Describes how each person feels. Distinguishes between supported factual information and beliefs or emotional feelings by stating "I think" or "I feel" or using I statements or I messages
  • use "I" messages
  • Explains reasons for each different position.
  • Explains each other's perspective.
  • Brainstorm and invent options for mutual benefit.
  • Agrees on a solution that benefits both sides

Stress Management

This skill involves the use of specific techniques that reduce and manage stress.

Positive outcome indicators:

  • Identifies situations that cause stress.
  • Demonstrates techniques to manage and reduce stress (deep breathing, exercise, relaxation strategies, ...)

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