How can health and wellbeing be improved and maintained, and what helps or hinders change?
Promoting and supporting health improvement: the components of a healthy lifestyle, how individuals can be supported to improve and maintain wellbeing, the formal and informal support available, and the barriers that make change difficult.
A CCEA AS 3 answer on promoting and supporting health improvement: the components of a healthy lifestyle, how people are supported to change behaviour and maintain wellbeing, the formal and informal sources of support, and the barriers (financial, practical, emotional and social) that make change difficult.
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What this dot point is asking
CCEA wants you to explain how health and wellbeing can be improved and maintained: the components of a healthy lifestyle, how individuals can be supported to change behaviour and sustain it, the formal and informal support available, and the barriers that make change difficult.
Components of a healthy lifestyle
Each component links to a clear benefit, and CCEA expects you to make that link rather than just list the components. A balanced diet and activity together prevent obesity and its consequences; sleep and stress management protect emotional health; positive relationships protect social wellbeing. The components also interact: poor sleep undermines diet and mood, while exercise improves both sleep and mood.
Supporting health improvement
Formal support includes the GP and practice nurse, dietitians, physiotherapists, stop-smoking services, counselling and mental health services, and structured programmes (weight management, exercise referral). Informal support includes family and friends, peer and community groups, and self-help resources. The most effective support is person-centred: it sets realistic, agreed goals, builds motivation, and provides encouragement and follow-up so that change is maintained rather than abandoned.
Barriers to change
CCEA groups barriers as financial (cost of healthy food, gyms, transport), practical (time, childcare, access, transport), emotional and psychological (low motivation, addiction, fear, low confidence), social and cultural (peer pressure, habit, cultural norms), and lack of knowledge (not knowing what to change). Each is overcome with matched support: subsidised or free services for cost; flexible and community provision for practical barriers; counselling and structured programmes for emotional barriers; group support and culturally appropriate advice for social barriers; and clear health education for knowledge gaps. Recognising barriers explains why simply telling people to "live healthily" rarely works, and why support is the key to lasting improvement.
Try this
Q1. State four components of a healthy lifestyle. [4 marks]
- Cue. Balanced diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, not smoking, limiting alcohol, managing stress (any four).
Q2. Give one example of a formal source of support for health improvement. [1 mark]
- Cue. The GP or practice nurse, a dietitian, or a stop-smoking service.
Q3. Explain one barrier to changing behaviour and how support can overcome it. [3 marks]
- Cue. A financial barrier (cost of healthy food or a gym) overcome by free or subsidised services and local facilities.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA AS 3 20186 marksDescribe the components of a healthy lifestyle and explain how each supports wellbeing.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark answer needs several components, each linked to a benefit.
Balanced diet: provides the nutrients and energy the body needs and helps maintain a healthy weight, reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Regular physical activity: strengthens the heart, lungs and muscles, helps weight control, and improves mood by reducing stress.
Adequate sleep: allows the body and mind to recover, supporting concentration, immune function and emotional regulation.
Avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol and not misusing drugs: reduces the risk of cancers, liver and heart disease and protects mental health.
Positive relationships and stress management: support emotional and social wellbeing and resilience.
Markers reward several distinct components, each clearly linked to a physical, emotional or social benefit.
CCEA AS 3 20228 marksExplain the barriers that may prevent an individual from improving their health, and how support can help to overcome them.Show worked answer →
An 8-mark answer needs a range of barriers, each paired with a way support overcomes it.
Financial barriers: the cost of healthy food, gym membership or transport can block change; support such as free or subsidised services, vouchers and local facilities helps.
Practical barriers: lack of time, childcare or access can prevent change; flexible appointments, community provision and online resources help.
Emotional and psychological barriers: low motivation, addiction, fear or low confidence; support such as counselling, stop-smoking services, goal setting and encouragement helps.
Social and cultural barriers: peer pressure, habit or cultural norms; support such as group programmes, role models and culturally appropriate advice helps.
Lack of knowledge: not knowing what to change; health education and clear, accessible information helps.
Markers reward a range of barrier types and a realistic, matched form of support for each.
Related dot points
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A CCEA AS 3 answer on the concepts of health and wellbeing: positive, negative and holistic definitions, the World Health Organization definition, and the physical, intellectual, emotional and social dimensions, and why the way health is defined shapes how care is planned and measured.
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- Approaches to health promotion: the medical or preventative, behaviour change, educational, empowerment and social change approaches, what each aims to do and its strengths and limitations.
A CCEA A2 4 answer on the approaches to health promotion: the medical or preventative, behaviour change, educational, empowerment and social change approaches, what each aims to achieve, examples of each, and their strengths and limitations.
- Planning and evaluating health promotion: the models of health promotion (Tannahill and Ewles and Simnett), how a health promotion campaign is planned and delivered, and how its effectiveness is evaluated.
A CCEA A2 4 answer on planning and evaluating health promotion: the Tannahill and Ewles and Simnett models, how a health promotion campaign is planned (aims, target group, methods, resources) and delivered, and how its effectiveness is evaluated against its aims.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCE Health and Social Care specification — CCEA (2016)