HEALTH literacy a new way for improving wellness and preventing disease

The official use of the word ‘wellness’ dates back to the 1950s with a seminal but little-known work by physician Halbert L. Dunn, called High-Level Wellness (published in 1961). The concept of wellness further gained popularity in the 1970s when the writings and leadership of an informal network of physicians and thinkers in the United States largely shaped the way we currently conceptualise and talk about wellness. Dr. John Travis, Don Ardell and Dr. Bill Hettler who are credited to be the fathers of the wellness movement, created their own comprehensive models of wellness, developed new wellness assessment tools, and wrote and spoke actively on the topic. They also created the world’s first wellness centre, developed the first university campus wellness centre, and established the National Wellness Institute and National Wellness Conference in the United States.

Since then the meaning of wellness has undergone several changes and associations, ranging from the esoteric to spas and the non-medical treatments. From 1980-2000, the wellness movement consolidated its popularity amongst the medical,