Promoting Health
Health is the condition of being free from disease or injury. It also means having the ability to participate in social and cultural activities without limitation or impairment. People define health in different ways. Some definitions are more subjective and focus on the emotional, spiritual or psychological aspects of health. A more objective definition was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 and it states that health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Traditionally, when a person is considered healthy, they must have no symptoms of disease and all investigations must show that their body functions normally. This is known as the medical model of health. This model of health is flawed because it only takes into account what a person can do at a particular point in time and ignores the fact that with the progress of medicine, a person who has no symptoms today may be diagnosed as having a disease tomorrow.
Another view is that health relates to the capacity of individuals to realize their aspirations and satisfy their needs, to change and cope with their environment in a healthy way. This is called the salutogenesis theory of health. In the 1980s, there was a shift away from viewing health as a state and towards seeing it as a process that depends on a range of factors.
Most people will agree that the health of a person is influenced by many factors, such as genetics, the microbiome of their digestive tract, lifestyle and their social and physical environments. Some of these factors can be controlled and others cannot. For example, if someone has an increased risk of a specific illness due to their genes they can take steps to reduce the chance of developing that disease by following good nutrition, being physically active, and avoiding smoking or excess alcohol.
Regardless of the definition of health that is used, it is important to promote health by encouraging healthful behaviors and by discouraging unhealthy ones. A common way to do this is through health articles in newspapers and magazines, on the internet, or on television and radio. These articles can be helpful and informative, but they must also be balanced. If an article is biased or exaggerated it can lead to distrust of the information being presented. It is therefore vital to include accurate statistics when promoting health and using evidence-based research. For example, if an article claims that ‘most people who take medication Y do not experience side effects’ it is important to quote figures to counterbalance this claim. This will make the reader more confident that the information is valid and trustworthy.
Health is the condition of being free from disease or injury. It also means having the ability to participate in social and cultural activities without limitation or impairment. People define health in different ways. Some definitions are more subjective and focus on the emotional, spiritual or psychological aspects of health. A more objective definition was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 and it states that health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Traditionally, when a person is considered healthy, they must have no symptoms of disease and all investigations must show that their body functions normally. This is known as the medical model of health. This model of health is flawed because it only takes into account what a person can do at a particular point in time and ignores the fact that with the progress of medicine, a person who has no symptoms today may be diagnosed as having a disease tomorrow. Another view is that health relates to the capacity of individuals to realize their aspirations and satisfy their needs, to change and cope with their environment in a healthy way. This is called the salutogenesis theory of health. In the 1980s, there was a shift away from viewing health as a state and towards seeing it as a process that depends on a range of factors. Most people will agree that the health of a person is influenced by many factors, such as genetics, the microbiome of their digestive tract, lifestyle and their social and physical environments. Some of these factors can be controlled and others cannot. For example, if someone has an increased risk of a specific illness due to their genes they can take steps to reduce the chance of developing that disease by following good nutrition, being physically active, and avoiding smoking or excess alcohol. Regardless of the definition of health that is used, it is important to promote health by encouraging healthful behaviors and by discouraging unhealthy ones. A common way to do this is through health articles in newspapers and magazines, on the internet, or on television and radio. These articles can be helpful and informative, but they must also be balanced. If an article is biased or exaggerated it can lead to distrust of the information being presented. It is therefore vital to include accurate statistics when promoting health and using evidence-based research. For example, if an article claims that ‘most people who take medication Y do not experience side effects’ it is important to quote figures to counterbalance this claim. This will make the reader more confident that the information is valid and trustworthy.