The Definition of Health and How it Can Be Defined
Health can be defined in a wide variety of ways, ranging from a narrow biomedical definition based on negative biological circumstances (such as altered DNA or abnormal physiologic conditions that can lead to disease, disability or death) to the World Health Organization’s famous Constitution from 1946 which states “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The latter is more encompassing and allows improvement efforts to be targeted at an individual’s response to illness and diagnosis; their functional capacity both now and in the future; their quality of life and sense of wellbeing.
The biomedical model offers the advantage of a relatively easy-to-measure, linear causal link between medical/health care and the measured outcome (e.g., increased life expectancy). However, it also risks assigning too much responsibility for improving health to the medical/health care sector alone. Increasingly, the factors that determine health are being recognized as having multiple origins. Some, such as genetic endowment or environmental exposures, are unchangeable; others, such as lifestyle choices or access to health care services, can be changed.
As a result, there is now recognition that the concept of health is a complex one and that health promotion and healthcare need to be integrated with other sectors of society. These include education, workplaces, community-based organizations, faith-based groups and media outlets. In addition, community residents are increasingly becoming active partners in the management of their own health.
When people are asked what they believe makes them healthy, many will cite luck or family history and others may point to their personal lifestyle choices such as whether they smoke, how much alcohol they drink, the amount of exercise they get and how much stress they manage to cope with. All of these have a significant impact on an individual’s health, but they do not constitute the full definition of health.
The other key component of the broad definition of health, enshrined in the World Health Organization Constitution from 1946, is the concept of the ‘state of well-being’. This is a positive concept which places equal emphasis on social and personal resources as it does on physical capabilities. It recognizes that the process of living and working in a changing total environment is a constant challenge for everyone and that it is necessary to develop the capacity to meet this challenge successfully. A high value placed on health (as opposed to merely the absence of disease) will make people undertake whatever is needed to promote their own and their community’s health, including participating in preventive action and seeking treatment.
Health can be defined in a wide variety of ways, ranging from a narrow biomedical definition based on negative biological circumstances (such as altered DNA or abnormal physiologic conditions that can lead to disease, disability or death) to the World Health Organization’s famous Constitution from 1946 which states “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The latter is more encompassing and allows improvement efforts to be targeted at an individual’s response to illness and diagnosis; their functional capacity both now and in the future; their quality of life and sense of wellbeing. The biomedical model offers the advantage of a relatively easy-to-measure, linear causal link between medical/health care and the measured outcome (e.g., increased life expectancy). However, it also risks assigning too much responsibility for improving health to the medical/health care sector alone. Increasingly, the factors that determine health are being recognized as having multiple origins. Some, such as genetic endowment or environmental exposures, are unchangeable; others, such as lifestyle choices or access to health care services, can be changed. As a result, there is now recognition that the concept of health is a complex one and that health promotion and healthcare need to be integrated with other sectors of society. These include education, workplaces, community-based organizations, faith-based groups and media outlets. In addition, community residents are increasingly becoming active partners in the management of their own health. When people are asked what they believe makes them healthy, many will cite luck or family history and others may point to their personal lifestyle choices such as whether they smoke, how much alcohol they drink, the amount of exercise they get and how much stress they manage to cope with. All of these have a significant impact on an individual’s health, but they do not constitute the full definition of health. The other key component of the broad definition of health, enshrined in the World Health Organization Constitution from 1946, is the concept of the ‘state of well-being’. This is a positive concept which places equal emphasis on social and personal resources as it does on physical capabilities. It recognizes that the process of living and working in a changing total environment is a constant challenge for everyone and that it is necessary to develop the capacity to meet this challenge successfully. A high value placed on health (as opposed to merely the absence of disease) will make people undertake whatever is needed to promote their own and their community’s health, including participating in preventive action and seeking treatment.