Unit 2 What is Health?

What is Health?

The 1948 Principles of the World Health Organization (WHO) state "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition ("Constitution of WHO: principles", 2018). The above definition has been under scrutiny.

 "Research-oriented doctors complained that the WHO definition has no direct operational value - it is so widely formulated that health outcome cannot easily be measured. Health like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" (Brüssow, 2013). Although the answer to the question may seem obvious I feel that defining health is an individual process. Not only is it a physical feeling of wellness, but also a spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and social state of wellness and balance. I feel the McKinley Health Centre put it into perspective well by stating, "Wellness is a state of optimal well-being that is oriented toward maximizing an individual's potential. This is a life-long process of moving towards enhancing your physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental well-being." (McKinley Health Center, 2018).

References:

Constitution of WHO: principles. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/about/mission/en/

Brüssow, H. (2013). What is health?. Microbial Biotechnology, 6(4), 341-348. doi: 10.1111/17517915.12063

McKinley Health Center (2018). Wellness. Retrieved from https://mckinley.illinois.edu/health education/wellness

Statistics Canada. (2016, March 14). Aboriginal Peoples: Fact Sheet for British Columbia. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-656-x/89-656-x2016011-eng.htm

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Bircher, J., & Kuruvilla, S. (2014). Defining health by addressing individual, social, and environmental determinants: New opportunities for health care and public health. Journal of Public Health Policy, 35(3), 365-386. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4119253/