A Day in the Life of Josie, Essay Example

Josie is a divorced woman in her fifties who lives alone and engages in a number of behaviors that are unhealthy.  Primary among these is her heavy smoking habit; she regularly smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day.  Most of her smoking is done on her commute to and from work and during her breaks at work.  She and her friends have sought out a restaurant for their regular lunch dates because it has a smoking section, which allows them to engage in their habit while eating and socializing.  Her stress level is high on this particular day because her grandson was recently hospitalized with meningitis.  Although he is doing well, she still worries about his health and spends much of her day thinking about his prognosis.  The only physical exercise that Josie gets during the day comes when she walks several blocks from the parking lot to her office.  This activity leaves her out of breath, as does any attempt she makes to take the stairs at work instead of the escalator.  Josie believes that this is a symptom of ageing rather than her poor diet and smoking habit.  Because she is afraid of being mugged and hates walking alone, Josie is considering scrimping on her food budget to pay for a parking pass in her building.

After attending a health fair in her office lobby, Josie learns that her blood pressure is quite high. She takes several pamphlets on quitting smoking and disease screening and gives some thought to her future health; although she was raised not to worry about such things, she also has a family history of colon cancer.  Although Josie has made no firm commitment to improve her health, her experiences illustrate the importance of making information about health promotion and disease prevention readily available.