[Conceptual system of health portrait].

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a nursing science perspective to health research. The perspective is outlined using the following key concepts: life control, life situation, health and health choices, resources, and process of change. This conceptual system of health portrait includes concepts used to study health in nursing science. It also reflects a research approach by using empirical examples. As a starting-point, life control is assumed to be reflected in the life situation as well as in health and health choices. As a consequence, life control is also related to each individual's resources in everyday life. Further attention is given to the assessment of the process of change pertaining to health choices during the person's course of life. As an empirical example of the application of the "health portrait" conceptual system, a research project titled Health portrait of adolescents in Kainuu is presented. This project aims to develop an instrument for measuring life control, health and life situation, to evaluate this instrument and to analyze life control data elicited from adolescents. Another aim of this paper is to assess how well an instrument created on the basis of the nursing science and the method of interventive interview used here served as tools for analysing life control and health in the health checkups of school-aged adolescents. On the basis of the knowledge obtained through these analyses we will develop further the conceptual system of health portrait, which could be used as a guideline in health research.