The COVID-19 pandemic spared no aspect of life. People from all over the world, regardless of age, gender, religion, race, or nationality, have to contend with this global healthcare issue in one way or another. Even everyone’s mental health has been put to the test. This reality hits close to home, especially to those who have personally experienced this plague’s worst possible outcome—the death of a loved one.
Now, more than ever, government and private institutions have realized the need for a robust healthcare system that takes better care of their people. If there is a silver lining to this collective nightmare, it has to be the health and wellness trends that resulted from the pandemic.
These health trends will continue to gain traction this year, and they will better prepare everyone for global health concerns that have yet to come. Here are some of the most noteworthy of these trends.
The continued evolution of health and wellness
In the coming years, health and wellness practices will evolve for the better. Here are the things to look forward to.
- Telehealth: consult with a physician without leaving the house. Remote healthcare is an emerging medical trend that employs technology to provide essential health guidance to patients outside medical facilities.
Via a mobile device with the required app or software, a patient’s vital signs are monitored by a physician. No need to go outside the comforts of one’s home to receive routine and preventive checkups—such is beneficial to vulnerable individuals like the elderly.
- Stores will stock up on health and wellness products through healthcare consumerization. Businesses will monetize people’s renewed or strengthened interest in personal wellness. Expect consumer products that highlight health and wellness benefits to inundate stores online and off.
Think Pandemic Personal Care, a recently coined category of beauty products. High-tech sneakers will give runners the performance boost and comfort they need. Wearable air purifiers will continue to show up around the necks of health-conscious individuals. These are just a few examples.
- Healthcare vendors are coming together for interoperability. The word to look out for is interoperability or the ability of different software applications and information systems used by healthcare vendors to communicate. That will result in an efficient exchange of data that can be used by both healthcare professionals and patients.
Consider a patient visiting a neuropsychiatrist who is privy not only to their dental records but also their medical history in general. That makes medical processes easier for everyone.
- Getting treated before illness strikes with preventive medicine. Paying for medical treatment is undeniably costly. Thankfully, there is a better alternative, which—proactively dealing with illnesses via preventive medicine.
This approach zeroes in on the health and wellness of individuals and communities. It is grounded in social, behavioral, and economic sciences. The primary method used to carry out preventive medicine is education.
- Personalized medical treatment. Patients’ susceptibility to particular diseases is directly related to their genetic and molecular profiles. Thanks to scientific breakthroughs like genomics, medical experts have a new way of determining illnesses, going beyond the standard approach of symptoms-based diagnosis.
This way, patients gain access to personalized medicine that goes straight to their bodies’ building blocks. This trend can also work hand-in-hand with preventive medicine.
- Personalized mental health services. In the past, mental health services worked like a monolith, but in the coming days, expect a more flexible approach that considers the differences between individuals. These differences encompass socio-economic, genetic, and racial backgrounds, among others.
Tailor fitting the methods employed to address mental health concerns recognizes that each patient is unique, though efficacy will always be on a case-to-case basis.
- Maximizing the healing effects of drug therapy. At least 50 countries have legalized the use of medical marijuana. In the coming years, expect more to join the bandwagon.
Marijuana is not the only focus of medical experts right now—they are also looking into magic mushrooms, among others. A Johns Hopkins study revealed that psilocybin, shroom’s active ingredient, decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression among cancer patients and improved their quality of life in general.
- More efficient smart hospitals. People have been enjoying smart homes for years; now, hospitals are following suit. To be a smart hospital, all the essentials must be present: automated facilities, reimagined clinical processes, and management systems that work within a digitized networking infrastructure.
The goal is to streamline the work of frontliners while ensuring patients’ utmost comfort and safety.
- Getting active at home through remote training. This trend began soon after the pandemic struck. It will continue to factor into everyone’s daily routine while waiting for vaccine rollouts. There are free YouTube home exercise videos to refer to for those who are not willing to spend. Those who want more personalized training can subscribe to online fitness classes conducted by professionals.
- Look great while sweating out with aesthetic workout gear. Workout sessions need not be dreary. Work out to look and feel great, but the act should look good too. Think:— a workout outfit that doubles as an OOTD. Consider yoga mats with rainbow colors, or kettlebells that look like they were designed by someone who frequents the runways of New York and Paris.
- Access to good food via meal delivery services. Meal delivery services have become the norm for the past 12 months, and their popularity will continue to be enjoyed by people who have become more cautious of getting sick. This is a profitable business for chefs and restaurateurs with sumptuous and healthy meal plans to offer clients.
- Practical diet through intuitive eating. More and more people eschew deprivation diets for intuitive eating. That is understandable, given that the latter happens to be more practical. There are very simple tenets to follow: respect for the body, listen to hunger, and most importantly, know and honor when the tummy is full.
- Paint pantries green by switching to a sustainable diet. Mother Nature needs to heal too, and people have a direct impact on the healing process. Many are becoming aware of how even what we eat contributes to global warming. Food accounts for up to 30% percent of the carbon footprint produced in a household.
To curb this, buy local produce instead of frozen goods, eat in or order from local restaurants, and purchase produce in season.
- Immunity boost via supplements. Most people started taking vitamin supplements when COVID-19 hit, and there is no reason for this trend to end anytime soon. A healthy immune system requires specific amounts of vitamins and minerals daily, such as Vitamin C, E, A, D, and zinc, among others.
- A focus on public health. The health of an individual is the health of the community. This is what government and private institutions have reckoned in the past year, and Filipinos can cross their fingers for the state’s universal healthcare plans to actually work.
- Tracking stress to better manage it. People track the steps they make while running or also the food they consume in diet journals. Stress tracking will be the next en vogue health and wellness commitment. Expect wearable stress-tracking tech from big brands like Apple and Fitbit. Unlike previous products, these new techs will employ novel ways to measure stress levels.
- Rest is essential to regain momentum. Before the pandemic, rest was a privilege for most people. Now, more are striving for a work-life balance that does not compromise health and wellness. Be spared from burnout by resting when the body sends signals that it is needed. There is no shame in staying off work and getting a breather.
- Mass vaccinations will change the course of the COVID-19 pandemic
While COVID-19 was the defining moment of the previous year, 2021 may well be the year of vaccinations. These vaccines from several pharmaceutical companies have been developed in record speed, and they are now being rolled out across different countries to finally stop the spread of the disease.
Commit to health and wellness
To have a long and fruitful life, health and wellness are essential, especially in a time of a global crisis. No matter how busy one gets or how challenging the daily hustle can be, there is no excuse for neglecting the self, which encompasses mind, body, and soul.
Be proactive. Invest in well-being. The returns of such an investment are more than worth it. Do not hesitate to reach out to Makati Medical Center for any health-related concerns and receive the correct diagnosis, management, and treatment.
