See earlier entries for explanation about what this is all about.
I thought it might be useful to show the transition from a D1 to a D2 of some materials. So here is one sub-section as it existed at D1: (sorry it looks so terrible, it will look much nicer on the VLE)
Reflecting on your own experiences
Activity 12.1: Your own wellbeing in adulthood Timing: About 15 minutes
Part 1 (Productive) Reflective activity about their own experiences of wellbeing as an adult, and how that differs from memories of wellbeing as a child.
Part 2 (Communicative) Poll activity, aiming to get a sense of diversity among fellow students e.g. maybe ‘Overall, was your wellbeing greater when you were (option 1) a child or (option 2) an adult?’ Or possibly a word cloud: three words to describe the three most important things that support your wellbeing.
[teaching text in between to reiterate that health care is only one part of wellbeing]
Activity 12.2: Your own experiences of health care in adulthood Timing: About 15 minutes
Part 1 (Productive) Reflective activity about their own experiences of accessing health care as an adult, and how that differs from memories of accessing health care as a child.
Part 2 (Communicative) Poll activity, aiming to get a sense of diversity among fellow students e.g. maybe ‘The last time you went to your General Practitioner or family doctor, what was the main reason for your visit?’ (screening/pregnancy-related/chronic condition/acute illness/other) or maybe ‘Last time you saw your GP/fd, how much did that visit improve your wellbeing (lots, little, no difference, decreased my wellbeing’ Or both questions?
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And here is how it looks now, after two hours’ work, which I think is pretty much okay for D2. I’m not perfectly happy that it is doing what I want it, and might tweak a little at D3, depending on the feedback I get, but this will do if I don’t have time to improve it. (Long experience is what gives me the confidence to say ‘this will do’ – I would have been much more perfectionist when I started out):
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Reflecting on personal experiences
Thinking about your own experiences of health care and wellbeing is an important part of studying them academically because your own experiences affect the ways you approach the topic. Acknowledging your own experiences and perspectives can help you to see beyond them, and understand perspectives and views which are very different from your own, which is an important part of becoming a critical and analytical thinker. For this reason, the next two Activities ask you to think about your own experiences and also to compare them to those of other students studying K119. However, if your own experiences of wellbeing or health care have been difficult recently or in the past, it may not be helpful for you to think about your own experiences. In that case, feel free to skip the next two Activities and move on to section 1.2.
Activity 12.1: Wellbeing in adulthood
Timing: About 20 minutes
Write a few sentences reflecting on your wellbeing in adulthood so far. What are the main factors that have affected your wellbeing in adulthood? How has your wellbeing varied as an adult?
Type three words in the boxes to describe the three most important things that support your wellbeing in adulthood. Then click on the link to the word cloud, which will show you the words that other students wrote. The larger the word, the more people chose this word. Were your words similar or different to the commonest words?
Part 3
Overall, was your wellbeing greater when you were (option 1) a child or (option 2) an adult? Click through to see what other students said.
Part 1 discussion:
Here’s what one person wrote:
The main factors affecting my wellbeing have been my personal relationships and my job. In the early days of my marriage I had a job I really enjoyed, and my wellbeing was really good. I had lots of energy, lots of fun and was pretty fit too. When my marriage broke up I was really unhappy and seemed to need all my energy just to keep going, with nothing left over for fun or exercise. But when I got my latest promotion at work I started to feel positive about myself again and recently I’ve started feeling like I’ve got a bit more time and energy to do things I enjoy.
[Activity box ends]
The word cloud and polls have given you some indication of how your own experiences of wellbeing as an adult compare with those of your fellow students. You probably found some common experiences and some where your experiences differed from those of other students. In the following Activity you will similarly compare your experiences but in relation to using health care services. In LG8 [insert hyperlink] you reflected on an encounter between a child or young person and a primary care professional. In Activity 12. 2 you will do something similar but thinking about your own experiences of accessing primary health care as an adult.
Activity 12.2: Health care in adulthood
Timing: About 15 minutes
Part 1
Q1 Think of the last time you used a primary health care service yourself. Where was it based?
- Doctor’s surgery
- Dentist’s surgery
- Local pharmacy
- Opticians
- Mass vaccination centre
Now click through to see what other students reported.
Q2 Which of these options is closest to your reason for using these services?
- Routine screening e.g. cervical smear, well man clinic
- Routine check-up e.g. dentist or optician check-up
- Vaccination
- Pregnancy-related
- Chronic condition or illness
- Acute illness or sudden problem
- Medication
Now click through to see what other students reported.
Q3 Thinking about that last visit, how much did it improve your overall wellbeing:
- A lot
- A little
- It made no difference
- It decreased my wellbeing
Click through to see what other students reported.
Part 2
Did anything surprise you in these quick polls among your fellow students? Noticing when things surprise you is a really good habit for thinking critically about your own assumptions. Make a few notes in the box below of anything you were surprised by, or anything else you thought was interesting.
Here is what one person wrote:
I was surprised to see dentists and opticians in the list of places because I don’t think of them as ‘primary care’ in the way I do doctors or nurses. Actually, the last service I used was the dentists because something always seems to be going wrong with my teeth at the moment. Getting my teeth fixed makes a really big contribution to my wellbeing because I love eating!
[Activity box ends]
Having timely and appropriate health care plays a vital role in overall wellbeing but, as you have been exploring throughout this module, wellbeing is about much more than access to health and social care services.