The Definition of Health
Health, the state of being free from disease and infirmity, is an important concept for understanding human well-being. It is an essential ingredient in determining how we should live our lives and how society can best support people’s ability to function.
Health is a multidimensional construct that reflects the individual’s overall functioning, defined as physical, social and mental well-being. It includes a person’s abilities, resilience and quality of life, allowing them to meet the challenges of a changing environment. It also requires the active participation of people whose health is to be promoted.
For many years, the international community was largely focused on defining diseases and the prevention of their spread. But the need to move beyond disease-focused definitions of health has become increasingly apparent. The definition of health in the 1948 World Health Organization Charter was a milestone, recognizing that well-being is distinct from and not synonymous with the absence of disease or infirmity. This more expansive definition of health has broad implications for research, policies and practice, particularly as it relates to disability and chronic conditions.
A number of ways of thinking about health have been proposed. A common view, which is influenced by the medical profession and the philosophy of humanism, equates health with the freedom from symptoms, signs and abnormalities of any kind. This approach has the advantage of clarity and simplicity; it is straightforward to understand and communicate. However, it fails to acknowledge that individuals can feel ill even when no disease is present and that they may respond differently to their disease or its treatment.
Some of the most influential ideas about health were introduced through a broader perspective. The social and environmental movement of the early 20th century emphasized the influence of an individual’s surroundings on health. This idea was later expanded into a more holistic conception of health in the 1980s by fostering the development of the health promotion movement. This led to a third way of thinking about health: a dynamic concept that involves the capacity of people to adapt to change.
While it is true that some determinants of health are directly measurable and amenable to intervention (such as mortality and disease incidence), it has been more difficult to identify or measure the many indirect forces that impact health. A broader definition of health, as described in the field model framework, encourages community-level efforts to consider a wider array of targets than just specific behaviors or disease measures.
For example, if a community is seeking to improve the health of its adolescents, efforts might include reducing their feelings of alienation and hopelessness through the use of after-school programs and athletics at night, family preservation and improved church-based communities. These targets are not easily captured by traditional biologic and epidemiologic measurements, but they are essential for reducing unintended pregnancies, substance abuse and other forms of dysfunction in the community.
Health, the state of being free from disease and infirmity, is an important concept for understanding human well-being. It is an essential ingredient in determining how we should live our lives and how society can best support people’s ability to function. Health is a multidimensional construct that reflects the individual’s overall functioning, defined as physical, social and mental well-being. It includes a person’s abilities, resilience and quality of life, allowing them to meet the challenges of a changing environment. It also requires the active participation of people whose health is to be promoted. For many years, the international community was largely focused on defining diseases and the prevention of their spread. But the need to move beyond disease-focused definitions of health has become increasingly apparent. The definition of health in the 1948 World Health Organization Charter was a milestone, recognizing that well-being is distinct from and not synonymous with the absence of disease or infirmity. This more expansive definition of health has broad implications for research, policies and practice, particularly as it relates to disability and chronic conditions. A number of ways of thinking about health have been proposed. A common view, which is influenced by the medical profession and the philosophy of humanism, equates health with the freedom from symptoms, signs and abnormalities of any kind. This approach has the advantage of clarity and simplicity; it is straightforward to understand and communicate. However, it fails to acknowledge that individuals can feel ill even when no disease is present and that they may respond differently to their disease or its treatment. Some of the most influential ideas about health were introduced through a broader perspective. The social and environmental movement of the early 20th century emphasized the influence of an individual’s surroundings on health. This idea was later expanded into a more holistic conception of health in the 1980s by fostering the development of the health promotion movement. This led to a third way of thinking about health: a dynamic concept that involves the capacity of people to adapt to change. While it is true that some determinants of health are directly measurable and amenable to intervention (such as mortality and disease incidence), it has been more difficult to identify or measure the many indirect forces that impact health. A broader definition of health, as described in the field model framework, encourages community-level efforts to consider a wider array of targets than just specific behaviors or disease measures. For example, if a community is seeking to improve the health of its adolescents, efforts might include reducing their feelings of alienation and hopelessness through the use of after-school programs and athletics at night, family preservation and improved church-based communities. These targets are not easily captured by traditional biologic and epidemiologic measurements, but they are essential for reducing unintended pregnancies, substance abuse and other forms of dysfunction in the community.