Naratil Family Health and Human Values Lecture Series - Oct 5 2023 - Social Environment and Health and Wellness

Started in 1994, the Health and Human Values Lecture Series is an annual lecture event hosted by Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. In 2015, thanks to the generosity of the Naratil Family, the series was  funded and renamed as the Naratil Family Health and Human Values Lecture Series. The series continues its commitment today to educate nursing students, practicing nurses, other health professionals and the lay public on key health-related issues.

Guy M Weissinger II, MPhil, PhD, RN and Assistant Professor, will present "Social Environment and Health and Wellness."  Health and wellness is highly influenced by our social environment.  The community one lives in and the family one lives with both impact mental health and wellness. Using a bioecological framework, this program will discuss how belongingness, social connectedness, family support, and other social environmental factors can be risk and protective factors for mental health and wellness, especially for children and adolescents. As mental health concerns continue to be a major public health crisis, clinicians and people in the community must be aware of how social environment negatively and positively impacts mental health.

 

After completing this program, participants will:

1.      Define social environment and its relationship with mental health and wellness
2.      Identify social environmental factors that commonly impact mental health
3.      Select simple strategies for improving mental health in one’s own social environments