Self-Care for Whole-Person Health:
A template to promote self-care while learning to care for others
By Dr. Adelaide Durkin
In over 21 years of teaching in a college or university setting, I have encountered many students who struggle with health habits and illnesses affecting the mind, body, or both. This issue became even more evident in one of my Health Promotion classes, consisting of licensed professionals who returned for a baccalaureate degree.
Built into the class was an assignment where students completed a self-health assessment and shared their personal goals for their own health. Through the course, they had the opportunity to gain or enhance their skills in health-focused assessment, planning evidence-based interventions, and evaluating the success of health promotion interventions.
When students shared their goals, many went beyond the required assignment. They volunteered more information about personal struggles with their health behaviors. There was a theme in their conversations: they greatly desired and were highly motivated to improve one or more areas of their health. They volunteered that some bad habits had been reinforced while attending college and now by their work environment.
Although it was disheartening to hear these reports, this motivated me to seek a template that would help me to more intentionally integrate a faith-based approach to health promotion that addressed the whole person, was evidence-based, and was simple to remember and practical for those motivated to take action towards their goals.
CREATION Life Template
After networking with individuals from other faith-based institutions at a conference, I was introduced to the CREATION Life approach and got some ideas on how it had been used. Since 2012 I have been using this model as a template for weaving in evidence-based concepts of health that are compatible with our faith-based, whole-person approach to health. Our BSN-Prelicensure has used this model in their Wellness course as well as some of the faculty teaching religion courses.
The CREATION LIfe principles draw on the story of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 for principles addressing physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. Each letter addresses the following:
C- Choice
R-Rest
E- Environment
A- Activity
T- Trust in God
I- Interpersonal Relationships
O- Outlook
N-Nutrition
Here is what some Kettering College faculty using this model have found:
“Using CREATION Life provides me with a good template to teach several health principles intentionally.” According to Dr. Joan Ulloth, Nursing professor, students’ overall response is positive, although some students engage more than others. However, in their final course reflection we capture the impact that learning about these principles has on students. We learn from end-of-semester reflections that even the students who seemed to “go through the motions” report how small changes they made as a result of the class have helped them to improve their nutrition, sleep better, or lose weight. These are some of the areas where students commonly report impact.
Dr. Duane Covrig, Humanities professor, has also used CREATION Life principles in his RELB 101 SDA Fundamental Beliefs and the Healing Ministry of Christ. “The students submit a daily/weekly log where they report and reflect on how their experiences of self-care have gone that week. These experiences are connected to discussions about Christ’s ministry to heal and also Adventist experiences in health education and services. As they see patterns in their health, such as sleep, exercise, diet, or their relationships with others, they see the complex aspects of whole-person care. The goal is to help them see the holistic nature of health and well-being, and also connect that to the social and spiritual dimensions of their lives.”
He continues, “They then connect this to their own healing journey, and at the end of the course they present some of the best wellness strategies they recommend to others.” Although most students use the CREATION health acronym, Duane also shares his own: FLOURISH, which stands for Faith in God, Love to all, Outdoor Activities, Unity in Diversity, Rest, Intellectual Growth, Stress Management, and Healthy Foods. He also has them create their own acronyms to experiment with their suggestions for wellness and healthful living. Other religion courses taught at Kettering College build on the concepts introduced by CREATION Life.
There are different approaches and models that provide a template to address a person’s overall health, and the CREATION Life is one of these models that some faculty at Kettering College have used to address various aspects of a person’s well-being, including spiritual health. In subsequent issues of the Holistic Health Corner, we will address each one of these concepts and invite faculty, staff, and students to contribute and highlight each of these health principles from the CREATION Life principle. The first concept we’ll look closer at is Choice, and we plan to publish it in November. Please contact Rebecca Ingle if you are interested in contributing.
Research Highlight: Nutrition and Learning: a study with young adult participants showed that intake of flavonoid-rich foods (i.e. mixed berries) helped students to maintain and improve cognitive performance for several hours after ingesting the food.1 Another study showed that ingesting walnuts for several weeks led to improvement in their ability to interpret verbal information.2 On the other hand, there are foods that are harmful to your brain and can negatively impact your performance. Examples include margarine and frosting, alcohol, soda and sugary drinks, fried foods, doughnuts, white bread and white rice, red meat, full-fat cheese, bottled dressings, swordfish and Ahi Tuna, marinades, and syrups.3
Recipe: Berry, Chia, and Mint Smoothie by the Prevention Test Kitchen
Dr. Durkin would like to thank her colleagues Dr. Duane Covrig and Dr. Joan Ulloth for taking the time to share their experiences and perspectives.
References
Whyte, A. R., Cheng, N., Butler, L. T., Lamport, D. J., & Williams, C. M. (2019). Flavonoid-Rich Mixed Berries Maintain and Improve Cognitive Function Over a 6 h Period in Young Healthy Adults. Nutrients, 11(11), 2685. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112685
Pribis, P., Bailey, R. N., Russell, A. A., Kilsby, M. A., Hernandez, M., Craig, W. J., Grajales, T., Shavlik, D. J., & Sabatè, J. (2012). Effects of walnut consumption on cognitive performance in young adults. The British journal of nutrition, 107(9), 1393–1401. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114511004302
Robinson, J. (2023, January 28) The Worst Foods for Your Brain WebMD https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-worst-foods-for-your-brain
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