Explain the salutogenic approach, the ease and dis-ease continuum, the sense of coherence and generalised resistance resources, and apply them to building resilience as a community resource

What this dot point is asking

QCAA builds the whole Health course on a salutogenic approach, so you need to understand it as a lens, not a definition to recite. "Salutogenic" means health-creating. The dot point asks you to explain the ease and dis-ease continuum, Aaron Antonovsky's sense of coherence, and generalised resistance resources, then apply them to how a community builds and accesses resilience. The strongest responses contrast the salutogenic lens with the older deficit model and show why it changes the kind of action a community takes.

The answer

What salutogenesis means

Salutogenesis asks a different question from traditional medicine. Instead of asking what makes people sick (pathogenesis), it asks what keeps people well and moves them towards health even under stress. This is the strengths-based foundation of QCE Health. It treats stressors as a normal part of life and focuses on the resources that let people and communities cope and grow rather than only on removing risk.

The ease and dis-ease continuum

In the salutogenic model, health is not an on or off state. Everyone sits somewhere on a continuum between ease (high wellbeing, coping well) and dis-ease (struggling, overwhelmed). Your position is fluid and depends on the issue, the context, and the resources available to you at the time. A community facing a housing shortage may sit closer to dis-ease for that issue while sitting closer to ease on another. This continuum thinking matters because it stops you from labelling a community as simply healthy or unhealthy and pushes you to ask what would move it towards ease.

Sense of coherence

The sense of coherence is the core salutogenic concept. It is a person's or group's confidence that life is understandable, manageable and meaningful. It has three parts:

• Comprehensibility: the situation makes sense and feels ordered rather than chaotic.
• Manageability: the resources to cope are available and within reach.
• Meaningfulness: the challenge feels worth engaging with and investing effort in.

A strong sense of coherence helps a community face stressors and stay nearer ease. Health promotion that builds understanding, supplies practical resources and connects action to what the community values is strengthening all three components.

Generalised resistance resources

Generalised resistance resources are the assets that help people and communities cope with stressors and move towards ease. They include money, knowledge, social support, strong relationships, cultural identity and access to services. The more generalised resistance resources a community can draw on, the stronger its sense of coherence and the more resilient it is. Building these resources is exactly what "resilience as a community resource" means in Unit 3.

Applying the lens in Unit 3

Use salutogenesis to frame your inquiry. Rather than only counting problems, identify the generalised resistance resources a community already has and the ones it lacks, then design action that strengthens comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. This connects directly to the Ottawa Charter: strengthening community action and developing personal skills build resistance resources, while supportive environments and healthy public policy make coping manageable. Framing your IA1 and examination responses through ease and dis-ease shows the marker you are applying the course's foundational approach rather than slipping into a deficit, illness-focused view.