How Health Is Perceived and Perceived
Health is a complex construct that includes not only physical and mental aspects but also social, environmental, economic, cultural, and political aspects. It is a vital resource for people to lead full lives with meaning and purpose.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as: “the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
In this definition, health is a positive characteristic, not a negative one. This is a step forward from the past, where a person’s health could be deemed positive only when disease was absent.
Some health authorities still follow this traditional view of health. Others, like researchers from the Lancet medical journal, consider a person’s health to be defined more broadly. This view is based on the recognition that the body may adapt to changes in disease-causing agents, allowing it to remain healthy even when new threats or pathology present themselves.
The concept of health has changed considerably over time, with different understandings being adopted by different societies, cultures, and social groups. These changes are reflected in the diverse ways that different views on health have evolved and co-existed online, affecting how information on health is delivered to society and how public interventions take place.
Until the modern age, health perception was strongly influenced by religion and the church. Ancient cultures, especially prehistoric ones, considered health to be a divine gift from gods, while in medieval times it was understood as the condition that allowed an individual to be strong and resistant to diseases.
It was believed that a healthy lifestyle would keep people from developing illnesses, and that good diet and proper exercise were essential. It was also understood that the environment affected human health and that diseases were mainly caused by weather, season changes and other factors.
In modern societies, however, the meaning of health has been distorted and redefined. This is largely due to the increasing involvement of government, politicians and other third parties in the healthcare ecosystem.
Today, the landscape for achieving and maintaining health has become so complex that it is difficult to know exactly what you are getting when you get any kind of healthcare. The larger healthcare ecosystem includes not only physician offices, hospitals, labs, radiology centers, and physical therapy offices, but also pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, insurance, group purchasing organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, corporate healthcare systems and more.
This complexity has become a problem because it impedes the free market and allows middlemen to insert themselves into each interaction with patients, diluting the quality of the actual care that patients can receive. These middlemen include government, third parties and media, all of which have their own agendas for promoting the various services that are offered by the healthcare ecosystem.
In the present day, these middlemen have inserted themselves into every interaction with a patient. In many instances, these middlemen are the ones that determine what the person receives in the form of healthcare and the way that they pay for it. This has led to a situation where healthcare is being conscripted into whatever the politician, ideologue or third party wants it to be.
Health is a complex construct that includes not only physical and mental aspects but also social, environmental, economic, cultural, and political aspects. It is a vital resource for people to lead full lives with meaning and purpose. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as: “the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” In this definition, health is a positive characteristic, not a negative one. This is a step forward from the past, where a person’s health could be deemed positive only when disease was absent. Some health authorities still follow this traditional view of health. Others, like researchers from the Lancet medical journal, consider a person’s health to be defined more broadly. This view is based on the recognition that the body may adapt to changes in disease-causing agents, allowing it to remain healthy even when new threats or pathology present themselves. The concept of health has changed considerably over time, with different understandings being adopted by different societies, cultures, and social groups. These changes are reflected in the diverse ways that different views on health have evolved and co-existed online, affecting how information on health is delivered to society and how public interventions take place. Until the modern age, health perception was strongly influenced by religion and the church. Ancient cultures, especially prehistoric ones, considered health to be a divine gift from gods, while in medieval times it was understood as the condition that allowed an individual to be strong and resistant to diseases. It was believed that a healthy lifestyle would keep people from developing illnesses, and that good diet and proper exercise were essential. It was also understood that the environment affected human health and that diseases were mainly caused by weather, season changes and other factors. In modern societies, however, the meaning of health has been distorted and redefined. This is largely due to the increasing involvement of government, politicians and other third parties in the healthcare ecosystem. Today, the landscape for achieving and maintaining health has become so complex that it is difficult to know exactly what you are getting when you get any kind of healthcare. The larger healthcare ecosystem includes not only physician offices, hospitals, labs, radiology centers, and physical therapy offices, but also pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, insurance, group purchasing organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, corporate healthcare systems and more. This complexity has become a problem because it impedes the free market and allows middlemen to insert themselves into each interaction with patients, diluting the quality of the actual care that patients can receive. These middlemen include government, third parties and media, all of which have their own agendas for promoting the various services that are offered by the healthcare ecosystem. In the present day, these middlemen have inserted themselves into every interaction with a patient. In many instances, these middlemen are the ones that determine what the person receives in the form of healthcare and the way that they pay for it. This has led to a situation where healthcare is being conscripted into whatever the politician, ideologue or third party wants it to be.