Strengthen your Self-Care

This program seeks to provide knowledge and tools for the promotion of personal protective factors, and to reduce the risk factors that make it difficult to maintain a healthy life.

---

The World Health Organization considers health promotion as “the process of empowering people to increase the prevention and control of all types of diseases and improve their health. It focuses on people’s individual behaviors, through social and environmental interventions, aimed at benefiting and protecting health and quality of life ” (WHO, 2017).

In the university phase, the adolescent and/or young person is inserted in a period of life of great richness and potential, but also very critical. It is a transition of physical, cognitive, psychosocial and sexual development to enter adulthood. In addition, it entails the acquisition of new roles and behavioral changes, so it is necessary to strengthen the sense of coherence and assertive decision making at the stage of the college student (Escobar et.al, 2019)

In this sense, health counseling is a psychosocial activity that seeks to promote health and the adoption of voluntary changes in behavior, from a positive approach to people (Marti-gil et al, 2013). On the other hand, it is defined as an educational, guiding consultation, which allows for reflection and decision making. The aim is for the person to be the protagonist of his or her own state of physical, mental and social well-being (Klüsse, 2020).

The studies delve into health issues such as: mental health, nutritional health, sexual health, disability, chronic and oncological diseases, oral health and physical activity (Klüsse, 2020).

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and disability in the world, these conditions include cancers, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, among others. Many of these are preventable by addressing the main risk factors, such as tobacco use, sedentary lifestyles, harmful alcohol consumption and unhealthy diets.

Axes of the Strengthen your Self-Care program:

Recognize the importance of health promotion.
Recognize the risk and protective factors in health.
Promote healthy lifestyles among the university population.
Accompany students in their change process.

Services

1.- Check

Preventive health screening: It is a health evaluation, in which the presence of certain diseases or their predominant risk factors can be detected in a timely manner. In people aged 15 years and older, health problems such as problematic drinking, smoking, overweight and obesity, arterial hypertension, DM, syphilis and tuberculosis are investigated (MINSAL, 2013). A prototype guideline is attached as an annex.

➔Motivation to change and Motivational interviewing: it is not about convincing the person, but that he/she reaches his/her own conclusions, identifies his/her internal motivations and can act. Most people have ambivalence or mixed feelings about change, which must be identified and tools must be used to address them.

➔Promoting protective factors: Healthy lifestyle counseling involves guiding and helping people to make changes in behaviors to reduce their risk of disease and stay healthy. Motivation and support is essential in the process.

Duration of first session 45 min. Max 2- 3 sessions later (20 min).

Session 1: Review of the Self-Applied Guideline. Blood pressure / Waist circumference measurement / Weight and height / Glycemia and total cholesterol.

➔2nd Session: Follow-up on motivation to change. Referral to programs. Closing of the intervention

Sessions for the formation of a change plan (Motivational Interviewing)

(1) Create and maintain the link
(2) Focus
(3) Evoking
(4) Plan Tool (SMART Tool)

Prochaska and diClemente (1982): Circular process of non-unidirectional change. Currently in spiral.

2.- Informative material

On a weekly basis, it seeks to encourage the acquisition of knowledge by UC students, to be active managers in the promotion and prevention of health.

The program seeks to generate knowledge from and for students, looking at their learning and knowledge needs through infographics, brief material and tips regarding health habits, protective and risk factors, updates, among others. We invite you to be attentive to the various files that will be uploaded to this website and to our Instagram @saludybienestarestaruc.

Download here a flyer with tips to strengthen your physical health.

Information to distinguish an allergic rhinitis from a flu or other illness.

Information about National Organ Donor Day

3.- Yard campaigns

The program seeks to work together with the community and for the community of UC students, through the use of the spaces available on the various campuses.

---

---

---