Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Table 4 Well-being and health.
Health is SD D U A SA N/Ans
Having a balanced diet 1.9 0.0 5.7 60.4 32.1
Being able to think through 1.9 9.4 9.4 50.9 28.3
things that matter
Being able to love myself 1.9 7.5 7.5 56.6 26.4
Being loved by others 5.7 11.3 9.4 35.8 37.7
Being able to love others 1.9 9.4 5.7 58.5 24.5
Being able to feel all my
emotional responses
5.7 7.5 9.4 50.9 26.4
Having the ability to solve my
problems
5.7 7.5 9.4 60.4 17.0
Being content with one’s lot in
life
0.0 7.5 17.0 47.2 28.3
Health is being confident about
life
3.8 13.2 11.3 47.2 24.5
Being able to think clearly 3.8 11.3 11.3 56.6 17.0
Being able to keep in contact 3.8 13.2 9.4 58.5 15.1
with friends
Being able to express my self 3.8 11.3 11.3 54.7 18.9
Health is being excited about life 1.9 9.4 17.0 52.8 18.9
Health is what I eat 3.8 20.8 9.4 62.3 3.8
Being able to enjoy my food 7.5 11.3 11.3 56.6 13.2
Being able to make my own 5.7 7.5 11.3 45.3 30.2
decisions
Health is not feeling lonely 3.8 15.1 17.0 41.5 22.6
Note; SD=Strongly Disagree, D=Disagree, U=Unsure, A=Agree, SA=Strongly
Agree, N/Ans=No Answer
What is clear from table 4 is the high level of agreement with items
that relate to notions of well-being. The relatively low Unsure
response rate indicates that the respondents were exercising critical
thought and judgment when engaging with the questions. While
there was, for the most part, low response rates to Strongly
Disagree / Disagree support the view that these items are indeed
measuring elements involved in the well-being ingredients of health.
The items above clearly relate to respondents feelings and emotions
about a range of issues ranging from the ability to think, through
having a balanced diet to enjoying food to being confident and
content to not feeling lonely.
Discussion
This discussion will be framed around the information contained in
the tables in the last section and will be informed by responses from
the focus group. The subject to be addressed concerns the
meanings that our respondents attach to health. Our questionnaire
centred on our respondents’ answers to the spiritual, physical, social
and well-being questions that formed our agenda from the start.
Therefore while our respondents did not have much leeway in which
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