Building Health Skills

1. Building Health Skills Taking responsibility for your health begins with a commitment to take charge of your actions and behaviors in a way that reduces risks and promotes wellness.

2. In this lesson, you will learn to: • Demonstrate communication skills to build and maintain • healthy relationships • Describe refusal strategies and conflict resolution skills • Formulate self-management strategies • Assess influences on behavior • Identify evaluation criteria for health information Lesson Objectives

3. Health Skills The first step in taking responsibility for your health is to develop health skills. Building Health Skills

4. Interpersonal Communication • One of the traits of a health-literate individual is having effective communication skills. Interpersonal communication involves not only making yourself heard but also being a good listener. • Effective communication skills involve: • Clearly saying what you mean. • Paying attention to how you say something. • Being a good listener. Interpersonal Skills

5. Refusal Skills • Refusal skills can be used to handle situations in which you are asked do something that you know is harmful or wrong. • Sometimes you must reinforce your decision to say no. • Say NO in a firm voice. • Explain why. • Suggest alternatives. • Use appropriate body language. • Leave if necessary. Interpersonal Skills

6. Conflict Resolution Skills • In addition to practicing effective refusal skills, it is important to develop and apply strategies for dealing with conflicts or disagreements and avoiding violence. • The key to conflict resolution is respecting others’ rights and your own. Interpersonal Skills

7. When discussing the conflict, speak calmly and listen attentively, asking questions when appropriate. Take time to calm down and think through the situation. Use a polite tone and try to brainstorm solutions where no one loses respect. Steps When Dealing with a Conflict Situation Interpersonal Skills

8. Eat nutritious foods. • Get regular medical and dental checkups. • Express your feelings in healthful ways. • Build your self-esteem. • Maintain healthy relationships. Practicing Healthful Behaviors Self-Management Skills

9. Managing Stress • Stress, the body’s and mind’s reactions to everyday demands, is a natural part of life. • Learning stress management will become increasingly important as you assume more responsibility for your health and take on additional roles as an adult. Self-Management Skills

10. Factors Influencing Your Health Analyzing Influences Internal Influences External Influences • Internal influences include your knowledge, values, likes, dislikes, and desires. • These are based on your experiences and your perspective on life.

11. Reliable Sources of Health Information • Parents, guardians, and other trusted adults • Library resources • Reliable Internet sites • Newspapers and magazines • Government agencies and health organizations Accessing Information

12. What Is Advocacy? • Advocacy enables you to positively influence the health of those around you. • You can help others become informed and publicly support health causes that concern and interest you. • Encouraging family, friends, peers, and community members to practice healthful behaviors is one way to practice health advocacy. Advocacy

13. Quick Review Choose the appropriate option. • Stress management • Character • Interpersonal communication • Advocacy Q._____ is a responsible role in which you influence others’ health behaviors.

14. A.4. advocacy Advocacy is a responsible role in which you influence others’ health behaviors. Quick Review - Answer Click Next to attempt another question.

15. Quick Review Q.Which of the following is not a refusal strategy? • Say no in a firm voice and suggest alternatives • 2. Resist explaining why you are saying no. • 3. Use appropriate body language. • 4. Leave, if necessary.

16. A.2. Resist explaining why you are saying no. “To resist explaining why you are saying no” is not a refusal strategy. It is effective to explain why you are saying no. Quick Review - Answer Click Next to attempt another question.

17. Quick Review Q.Stress management is a way of dealing with or overcoming the negative effects of stress. Which of the following are some strategies for managing stress? • Engaging in physical activities • 2. Listening to soothing music • 3. Writing about how you feel in a journal • 4. All of the above

18. A.4. All of the above. Stress management is a way of dealing with or overcoming the negative effects of stress. Some strategies for managing stress include engaging in physical activity, listening to soothing music, writing about how you feel in a journal. Quick Review - Answer Click Next to attempt another question.

19. Quick Review Choose the appropriate option. Q.To advocate a health cause or organization is to show disapproval for it. True False

20. Quick Review - Answer A.False. Advocacy is a way to show support for a health cause or organization. Click Next to attempt another question.

21. End of Lesson 1 Click Home to view the Main menu.

22. A.Correct!Advocacy is a responsible role in which you influence others’ health behaviors. Quick Review - Answer Click Next to attempt another question.

23. Quick Review - Answer You have answered the question incorrectly. Go back to try again, or click Next to view the correct answer.

24. Quick Review - Answer A.Correct!A refusal strategy is not to resist explaining why you are saying no. It is very effective to explain why you are saying no. Click Next to attempt another question.

25. Quick Review - Answer You have answered the question incorrectly. Go back to try again, or click Next to view the correct answer.

26. Quick Review - Answer A.Correct!Stress management is a way of dealing with or overcoming the negative effects of stress. Some strategies for managing stress include engaging in physical activity, listening to soothing music, writing about how you feel in a journal. Click Next to attempt another question.

27. Quick Review - Answer You have answered the question incorrectly. Go back to try again, or click Next to view the correct answer.

28. Quick Review - Answer A.Correct!Advocacy is a way to show support for a health cause or organization. Click Next to attempt another question.

29. Quick Review - Answer You have answered the question incorrectly. Go back to try again, or click Next to view the correct answer.

30. Factors Influencing Your Health Analyzing Influences Internal Influences External Influences • External influences come from outside sources. • These include your family, your friends and peers, your environment, your culture, laws, and the media.

31. Health Skills The first step in taking responsibility for your health is to develop health skills. Building Health Skills A health skill is a specific tool and strategy that helps you maintain, protect, and improve all aspects of your health.

32. Interpersonal Communication • One of the traits of a health-literate individual is having effective communication skills. Interpersonal communication involves not only making yourself heard but also being a good listener. • Effective communication skills involve: • Clearly saying what you mean. • Paying attention to how you say something. • Being a good listener. Interpersonal Skills Interpersonal communication is the exchange of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs between two or more people.

33. Refusal Skills • Refusal skills can be used to handle situations in which you are asked do something that you know is harmful or wrong. • Sometimes you must reinforce your decision to say no. • Say NO in a firm voice. • Explain why. • Suggest alternatives. • Use appropriate body language. • Leave if necessary. Interpersonal Skills A refusal skill is a communication strategy that can help you say no when you are urged to take part in behaviors that are unsafe or unhealthful, or that go against your values.

34. Conflict Resolution Skills • In addition to practicing effective refusal skills, it is important to develop and apply strategies for dealing with conflicts or disagreements and avoiding violence. • The key to conflict resolution is respecting others’ rights and your own. Interpersonal Skills Conflict resolution is the process of solving a disagreement through cooperation and problem solving.

35. Managing Stress • Stress, the body’s and mind’s reactions to everyday demands, is a natural part of life. • Learning stress management will become increasingly important as you assume more responsibility for your health and take on additional roles as an adult. Self-Management Skills Stress management is a way to deal with or overcome the negative effects of stress.

36. What Is Advocacy? • Advocacy enables you to positively influence the health of those around you. • You can help others become informed and publicly support health causes that concern and interest you. • Encouraging family, friends, peers, and community members to practice healthful behaviors is one way to practice health advocacy. Advocacy is taking action to influence others to address a health-related concern or to support a health-related belief. Advocacy