Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Chapter 1&2 Summary

Assignment 1

By: Khameis Alzeyoudi 58578

Instructor: Dr. Glenn Muschert

Semester: Spring 2023

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Chapter 1
Definitions:

• Well-Being: It includes global judgments of life satisfaction, health, and participation

with life. Well-being is a crucial positive outcome for people and many sectors of
society since it indicates that people believe their lives are going well.

• Biology: the study of living creatures, which is separated into numerous specialist
fields that address their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and
distribution.

• Human Biology: the physiology, behavior, and other qualities of homo sapiens.

• Psychology: the study of mind and behavior. As it explores the development of the
human mind from biological roots through the life course.

• Sociology: the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships,

social interaction, and culture

• Human Behavior: the ability of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and
external stimuli (mentally, physically, and socially) throughout their lives.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Short Answer Questions:

Q1. Define and explain the importance of well-being.

Well-being includes global judgments of life satisfaction, health, and participation with
life. Well-being is a crucial positive outcome for people and many sectors of society
since it indicates that people believe their lives are going well.
Well-being is important because it is associated with numerous health-, job-, family-,
and economically related benefits. The following chart illustrates the things related to
well-being.

Life
Quality

Productivity
Illness &
Injury

Well-
Personal/ Being
Social Immune
Connections Functionality
Strength

Life
Recovery
Expectancy

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Q2. Why is it important to study biosocial well-being?

It is important to study biosocial well-being for the following reasons:

1) Behavior patterns are the main reason of affecting the health prospects of human-
being.
2) Personal behavior represents the greatest opportunity to improve health and reduce
early deaths.
3) Understanding human behavior is important for medical staff and doctors to provide a
better health care.

Q3. Explain how biosocial medicine combines the concepts of

three (3) fields of knowledge.

Biosocial medicine combines the concepts of Biology, Psychology, and Sociology

because all these fields are related to each other and overlapped with the human
behavior and well-being. To illustrate, the biosocial medicine aims to improve the
Physical, mental, and social state of a human-being. Where the physical part is related
to biology, the mental to psychology, and the social is related to sociology.

Q4. What is human behavior, and why is it important to well-

being?

Human Behavior is the potential and expressed capacity (mentally, physically, and
socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external stimuli
throughout their life.
Human behavior has an important role in enhancing people lives, especially those who
suffers from mental health issues and behavioral disorders. Also, it has assessed to
improve many areas like early childhood education, organizational behavior
managements, and public health. For example, human behavior allows us to have a
better background about motivation, productivity, and how teams behave and work.
This is because human behavior is studied by social sciences, which include
psychology and sociology. As a result, we can achieve more while working in teams by
absorbing human behavior concepts.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Chapter 2
Definitions:

• Health (Traditional Medical): the state of being free of illness or injury.

• Health (WHO): a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease and infirmity

• Physical well-being: the ability to sustain a healthy lifestyle and do everyday tasks
without excessive weariness or physical stress. This includes the absence of harm,
illness, or death.

• Life Expectancy: a statistical estimate of how long a person is projected to live based
on their birth year, present age, and other demographic parameters such as gender,
ethnic group, and nationality.

• Life Expectancy at Birth: how long, on average, a newborn can expect to live, if
current death rates do not change

• Infant Mortality Rate: the number of infant deaths under one year of age for every
1,000 live births

• Maternal Health effect: Maternal health refers to women's health during pregnancy,
childbirth, and the postnatal period, which has an impact on the child's well-being.

• Life Expectancy at Age 65: the average number of years that a person at that age can
be expected to live, assuming that age-specific mortality levels remain constant.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

• Person of Determination: according to UAE law he is a person with special needs as

someone suffering from a temporary or permanent, full or partial deficiency or
infirmity in his physical, sensory, mental, communication, educational or psychological
abilities to an extent that limits his possibility of performing the ordinary requirements
as people without special needs.

• Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY): it is a time-based measure that combines

years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs) and years of life lost due to time
lived in states of less than full health, or years of healthy life lost due to disability
(YLDs). One DALY is the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health (WHO).

• The Burden of Disease: a measure of the impact of living with illness and injury and
dying prematurely. The summary measure ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (or DALY)
measures the years of healthy life lost from death and illness.

• Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY): measure of disease burden, including both the
quality and the quantity of life lived. It is used in economic evaluation to assess the
value of medical interventions. One QALY equates to one year in perfect health.
QALY scores range from 1 (perfect health) to 0 (dead)

• Psychological Well-Being: it is the combination of feeling good and functioning

effectively.

• Social Network: the types of people an individual interacts with (family, friends,
neighbours, co-workers, etc.), the quality of the relationship (close, trusting, etc.), and
the frequency with which one interacts with those in her or his network.

• Social Capital: those features of social relationships such as levels of interpersonal

trust and norms of reciprocity and mutual aid that facilitate collective action for mutual
benefit.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Short Answer Questions:

Q1. Are health and well-being the same thing? Explain why or
why not.

Yes and No. It depends on the definition used for health. The traditional medical
definition for health is the state of being free of illness or injury. Whereas the WHO
definition is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease and infirmity. On the other hand, the definition for well-being
generally includes global judgments of life satisfaction, health, and engagement with
life. Well-being is a positive outcome that is meaningful for people and for many
sectors of society, because it tells us that people perceive that their lives are going well.
To conclude, if we use the WHO definition for health, then yes, we can say well-being
and health are the same. To clarify more, imagine a man who is free of illness or
injuries, which means he is healthy according to the traditional definition. However,
this man suffers from his family and his wife too much and he is always very depressed
from them. So, we cannot say this man is healthy according to WHO definition even
though he is free of diseases and injuries.

Q2. List and describe the aspects of well-being. Clarify why it is

difficult to form a precise definition of the concept.

It's difficult to form a precise definition of the well-being concept since it emerges
many health meanings. According to The WHO constitution states: "Health is a state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease
or infirmity." An important implication of this definition is that mental health is more
than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities.
Aspects of well-being:

• Physical well-being: the ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle to do daily activities

without undue fatigue or physical stress. This includes absence of injury, disease, and
death.
• Development and activity: they are about whether this individual’s physical ability
is developing with normal speed and capable to participate in the activities with his
peers.
• Social well-being: it is the social aspect of well-being. And it is the interaction
between a person and the people surrounding him.
• Emotional well-being: it is your feeling and emotions to things that happen in your
life and based on those feelings it decides your emotional well-being.
• Psychological well-being: It can be related to emotional well-being. It is the
combination of feeling good and functioning effectively.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

• Economic well-being: Whether someone have a good income or not, this will still
affect both of their economic well-being and their financial stability. For example, a
person might have a high salary but it’s not enough for him because he is living in an
expensive area.

Q3. What is life expectancy at birth? How is it measured, and

how does it provide information about the well-being of a
society?

Life Expectancy at Birth is how long, on average, a new born can expect to live, if
current death rates do not change (OECD). It can be calculated using health status
indicators. It can be measured by many factors like the rise in living standards and the
people who have a better lifestyle and education and a greater access to quality health
services. The indicator is measured by the total per gender and is measured in years.
For example, we have two societies, one has bad health services and a bad income and
live in a country with high poverty levels. Which means we can this tell us about the
low well-being of his society. On the other hand, the other society has a good income
and have a great access to health services. So, we can tell that this society lives with a
high level of well-being.

Q4. What is the infant mortality rate? How is it measured, and

how does it provide information about the well-being of a
society?

Infant Mortality Rate is the number of infant deaths under one year of age for every
1,000 live births (CDC). We measure the infant mortality rate yearly by dividing the
number of infant deaths in the first year of life by the number of live births in the same
year and then we multiply the result by 1000. The information given can tell us about
the health care system in each society. Those numbers are different from one society to
another. If the health care system is good, then many infant mortalities can be
prevented. For example, we can give Somalia as an example where the numbers of
infant mortality death are high. So, this tells us that the society either live in poverty or
they have a bad health system and don’t have the enough medical support to lower
those numbers. So, we should look at the reason behind that and provide more medical
support to the mother and the new-born by having the tools and the treatment needed to
lower the death cases. However, we can take the UAE on the other hand where the
numbers of infant mortality death are low, so this tells us that the society have a good
health system and have the enough medical support to the mothers and the new-born
and that shows that they have a higher level of well-being.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Q5. What is life expectancy at age 65? How is it measured, and how
does it provide information about the well-being of a society.

Life expectancy at age 65 is the average number of years that a person at that age can
be expected to live, assuming that age-specific mortality levels remain constant. We
measure life expectancy at age 65 by diving the cumulative number of years lived by
persons who age 65 and older, divided by the number of persons who age 65 and older.
Life expectancy at age 65 aims to provide information about the healthcare condition
for a specific group of population, the senior people. For example, this can tell us about
the individuals living in the society, if the life expectancy at age 65 is high this could
tell us that society have a healthy life style and the majority have good habits such as
not smoking, doing daily activities, and good access to health services for seniors and
the right tools to treat them are offered. However, if it was vis versa we can tell that this
society have a low life expectancy at 65 because of those reasons so we must look and
see if the health system has the right facilities to treat senior people if they have
diseases like cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and so on, we could look for ways to
solve it from the government to assist with the right resources.

Q6. Explain the different use and meaning of the terminology

“People of Determination,” “People with Disabilities,” and
“The Disabled.”

A Person of Determination is a person with special needs as someone suffering from a

temporary or permanent, full, or partial deficiency or infirmity in his physical, sensory,
mental, communication, educational or psychological abilities to an extent that limits
his possibility of performing the ordinary requirements as people without special needs.
Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) is a time-based measure that combines years of
life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs) and years of life lost due to time lived in
states of less than full health, or years of healthy life lost due to disability (YLDs). One
DALY is the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health (WHO).

Q7. What is the burden of disease, how is it measured, and why is it

important to study/understand?

The Burden of Disease is a measure of the impact of living with illness and injury and
dying prematurely. The summary measure ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (or DALY)
measures the years of healthy life lost from death and illness.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Q8. What is a DALY, how is it measured, and why is it important

to study/understand?

Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) is a time-based measure that combines years of

life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs) and years of life lost due to time lived in
states of less than full health, or years of healthy life lost due to disability (YLDs). One
DALY is the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health (WHO).

Q9. What is a QALY, how is it measured, and why is it important

to study/understand?

Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) is the measure of disease burden, including both
the quality and the quantity of life lived. It is used in economic evaluation to assess the
value of medical interventions. One QALY equates to one year in perfect health.
QALY scores range from 1 (perfect health) to 0 (dead).

Q10. What is social well-being, how is it measured, and who is it

important to study/understand?

We need to consider the social aspects of well-being. Children interact with their
families and peers; adults interact with their families, neighbours, peers, and
communities. A key aspect of human well-being is the extent and the quality of these
social interactions.
Two Concepts:
• Social Networks (measured at an individual level) the types of people an individual
interacts with (family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, etc.), the quality of the
relationship (close, trusting, etc.), and the frequency with which one interacts with
those in her or his network.
• Social Capital (measured at a collective level) “those features of social relationships—
such as levels of interpersonal trust and norms of reciprocity and mutual aid—that
facilitate collective action for mutual benefit”.
Social networks are important because the strength of one’s relations to others is
associated with well-being in a variety of ways, including physical health, cognitive
ability, and emotional well-being.

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 Assignment 1 – Human Behavior and Well-Being – HUMA 156 – Spring 2023

Social capital is important because experiencing enhanced social capital is associated

with several positive outcomes, including reduced rates of juvenile delinquency and
crime, enhanced education, and increased economic opportunity.
Examples:
• Not having social support can affect your health as much as smoking nearly a pack
per day.
• Having social support could Calm our cardiovascular system, which lowers blood
pressure and stress hormone levels
• Improve immunological health
• Reduce anxiety, depression, and other disorders
• Reduce alcohol and drug use, and suicidal ideation
• Reduce mortality from disease social well-being is important because if people who
have good relationships face an issue, they will receive the help and support since they
have a level of social well-being. This means these people will have a smaller risk of
being ill or facing depression. We notice there is a connection between social capital
and social networks. For example, a society with a high social capital provides a safe
environment and by having a safe environment the trust level between people will
increase and the chance will be higher to connect more social networks so they can
have social support and a higher level of well-being.

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