Understanding Wellbeing is an accessible introduction to the concept of wellbeing and its relevance to areas of health and social policy. Each chapter considers an aspect of wellbeing with an emphasis on conceptual clarity and the importance of reflective practice in this field. The book includes case studies, activities and reflection points to engage the reader with both the theory and its practical application. The book provides an overview of the concept of wellbeing and its relationship with and role in health, including: •  Psychological aspects of wellbeing — mind/body influences, psychology, spirituality •  Physical aspects of wellbeing — food, exercise, genetics, health promotion •  Social approaches to wellbeing — social policy, culture, environment, housing, education, information Understanding Wellbeing provides students, professionals and practitioners of health and social care with the essential resources for understanding and promoting wellbeing. The Editors: Anneyce Knight is Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, UK Allan McNaught is Principal Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, UK. The authors are a multi-professional group of health academics with considerable national and international experience across the statutory and non-statutory sectors. Understanding Wellbeing An Introduction for Students and Practitioners of Health and Social Care By Anneyce Knight, Allan McNaught Lantern Publishing Limited Copyright © 2011 Kate Beaven-Marks Ben Bruneau Fiona Bushell Harry Chummun Anne Gill Bill Goddard Mark Goss-Sampson Veronica Habgood Alfonso Jimenez Stella Jones-Devitt Qaisra Khan Anneyce Knight Simten Malhan Allan McNaught Nevin Mehmet Carlos Moreno-Leguizamon Stuart Spear Clarence Spigner Christine Stacey Jill Stewart Silvano Zanuso All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-908625-00-7 Contents List of Abbreviations and Acronyms, ix, The Contributors, xiii, Introduction Anneyce Knight and Allan McNaught, 1, Part 1: Overview, 1 Defining Wellbeing Allan McNaught, 7, 2 Wellbeing and Health Stella Jones-Devitt, 23, 3 Ethics and Wellbeing Nevin Mehmet, 37, 4 Monitoring and Evaluating Wellbeing Projects Carlos Moreno-Leguizamon and Clarence Spigner, 50, Part 2: Psychological Aspects of Wellbeing, 5 Psychoneuroimmunology and Wellbeing Christine Stacey, 67, 6 Psychological Aspects of Wellbeing Ben Bruneau, 79, 7 Spirituality and Wellbeing Anneyce Knight and Qaisra Khan, 94, Part 3: Physical Aspects of Wellbeing, 8 Food and Wellbeing Stuart Spear, 111, 9 Exercise and Wellbeing Alfonso Jimenez, Silvano Zanuso and Mark Goss-Sampson, 124, 10 The Genetics and Genomics of Wellbeing Harry Chummun, 134, 11 Promoting Wellbeing in Long-term Conditions Silvano Zanuso and Alfonso Jimenez, 146, Part 4: Social Approaches to Wellbeing, 12 Social Policy and Wellbeing Allan McNaught and Simten Malhan, 161, 13 Public Health, Wellbeing and Culture: A Critical Perspective Clarence Spigner and Carlos Moreno-Leguizamon, 174, 14 Environment and Wellbeing Veronica Habgood, 187, 15 Housing, the Built Environment and Wellbeing Jill Stewart and Fiona Bushell, 201, 16 Education and Wellbeing Bill Goddard, 214, 17 Wellbeing and the Workplace Kate Beaven-Marks, Anneyce Knight and Bill Goddard, 227, 18 Information for Wellbeing Anne Gill, 240, Conclusion Anneyce Knight and Allan McNaught, 253, References, 257, Index, 291, CHAPTER 1 Defining Wellbeing Allan McNaught Learning outcomes In this chapter you will learn how to: • develop working definitions of wellbeing within a framework that will enable you to capture the complexity of the concept; • compare and contrast the scope and the different components of wellbeing; • identify the critical connections and interdependencies between the different components of wellbeing. This chapter seeks to explore wellbeing as a free-standing, multilevelled and complex social construct. The chapter will argue that 'health' is but one component of wellbeing and, while the customary coupling extends 'health' to encompass the emotional and the psychological (and maybe even 'holistic'), it pre-empts our understanding and debates about 'wellbeing'. Wellbeing is a complex, confusing and contested field that would benefit from a framework within which to locate more specific definitions, and to tease out interconnections and cross-cutting issues. The prime objective of this chapter is to give readers of this book a steer by providing a definitional topography for the concept of wellbeing. By providing such a framework, this chapter seeks to make a contribution towards the thinking and discourse about wellbeing, and to assist the reader in locating the individual chapters within a broader context, while also recognising their boundaries/limitations. INTRODUCTION Concern with wellbeing has generated a considerable body of literature and research on its many facets and meanings. There is an increasing acceptance that so-called '