MODERNIZING THE DEFINITION OF HEALTH

Sadaf Amin
Oct 9, 2018
2 min read

Updated: Dec 3, 2018

CURRENT DEFINITION OF HEALTH:

When we think about health, what comes first in our mind? A physically and mentally fit person, free of diseases. But health is beyond this. In the modern world, health is not only the physical and mental health, but it is the ability of an individual to maintain his/her physical, mental, social and emotional attitude to cope with his/her current environment and can also adapt and self-manage with the changing environment. In 2009, conference held in Netherlands proposed a few conclusions: physical health was defined as the maintenance of physiological balance through changing circumstances, mental health was defined as a sense of coherence which was identified as a defining criterion for mental health, and social health was explained as the ability to participate in social activities and manage their life.

COMPARING CURRENT DEFINITION OF HEALTH vs. W.H.O DEFINITION OF HEALTH:

In 1948, World Health Organization (W.H.O) proposed a definition of health: health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.

Huber et al. (2011) challenge the W.H.O definition of health by introducing a new concept of health as the ability to adapt and self manage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges. According to this new concept, people with chronic illness are also considered healthy, if they learn to manage stress to maintain a positive physical, emotional and spiritual outlook on life through medicines, diet and exercise. As compared with the W.H.O definition of health, more people can be considered healthy, this new concept also defines the opportunities available to the individual, rather than focusing on their disabilities.

CRITICISM OF W.H.O DEFINITION:

· One of the main limitation of W.H.O is use of word “complete” as it is promoting the medicalization of society and leaving most of the people unhealthy. People are more likely to reach for medication than in the past as “easy fixes” are available for minor depression, feeling tired, inability to concentrate. New screening technologies can detect abnormalities at levels that might not cause disease and just a waste of time and money. Operationalization of the definition is not possible because “complete” is neither operational nor measurable.

WHO definition becomes counterproductive as it declares people with chronic diseases and disabilities definitively ill. It minimizes the role of the human capacity to cope autonomously with life’s ever changing physical, emotional, and social challenges and to function with fulfillment and a feeling of well being with a chronic disease or disability.

ENDING THOUGHTS:

From my perspective, W.H.O definition needs to be updated, as it should include the ability to adopt and self manage so that large group of people are considered healthy and also includes the acceptance and tolerance as health measures.