A Study for Developing a Comprehensive Health Toolkit in the COVID-19 Era: An Application of the Health Consciousness Concept

Abstract

OBJECTIVES The current review aims to help develop a comprehensive health toolkit to better capture an individual’s health status from the holistic perspective. METHODS This study examined previous health tools measuring an individual’s health status. A review of literature was conducted to identify limitations of prior measures. RESULTS The concept of health consciousness was introduced and proposed to be in a basket of health toolkit. As it refers to an individual’s psychological tendency toward one’s health and inner state of paying attention to one’s health, the health consciousness concept shows a potency of predicting a variety of health-related perceptions, attitudes and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS During the COVID-19 era and hereafter, avoiding health risks and maintaining a good health condition have become recognized as an important personal and social agenda. Responding to this previously unknown disease, people in the globe had a chance to contemplate the meaning and value of health and to monitor one’s health condition continuously. Therefore, it will be necessary and useful to include the health consciousness concept and its underlying dimensions (i.e., health awareness, health responsibility, and health motivation) in developing a future health toolkit.