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Definitions of health and illness
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The discussion of this report will analyse the multi-dimensional factors that affects health with regards with the processes of health interventions. Each factors will particularly tackled as the report is conferred. Recognising the role of the dimensions determines health for the individual itself and the community. And how the how the national healthcare impacts the cultural and social concerns for the health policy. The scope of individual predisposition and behaviours, social and economic factors and even the environment that impacts health is called determinants of health. These factors are correlated in a way they affect the health individual and population. According to WHO (2016), the circumstances and environment can be directly related to whether to an individual have good or bad health and cannot be blamed to the individual or community itself. Although, the government focuses on resolving these factors, the way we plan, implement and evaluate actions done will depend on how we perceive these and therefore takes effect and contributes to undertaking the interventions. Demography defined by Davis (1976) is an approach in such a way ascertains the number of population in a specific area, to distinguish changes in …show more content…
While illness is a state of being unhealthy whether it’s the body or the mind. And public health is an organized process of intervention to prevent disease, promote and prolong life among a population as a whole. The activities involve in public health is to provide conditions that focuses on the health of the entire population. It is not just merely suppression of diseases but concerns the system of health all together. As the health and illness known differently to every individual. Our definition of these two concepts shapes and influences how we plan, implement, and even evaluate our health
Essential to everyday life is the significant condition of our health. Our health can be affected by a number of elements, including our nutrition. In addition, health can also be affected by social determinants such as transportation, social economic status, early life, work, social support, food security and education. (Wilkinson, R.; Marmot, M. 2003) Case studies would be analysed and compare how the social determinants of health have been involved in the manifestation of the health complications. Also how these social determinants have affected the ability of the person access services and manage the health problems
Irwin, A. & Scali, E. (2005). Action on the Social Determinants of Health: Learning from Previous Experiences - A background paper prepared for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/action_sd.pdf
Social determinants of health has been a large topic for many years and can have a positive and negative effect on individuals, families and communities. (World Health Organisation, 2009) The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. Social determinants have many factors and in this essay education will be the main social determinant of health discussed and how this could have an impact on the physical and mental sides of health.
Public health is a practice that focuses on the promotion of physical, mental, and social health and well-being and on the prevention of disease and disability among groups of people. It differs from the practice of medicine because it focuses on prevention rather than cures and addresses the needs of people as a whole rather than as individual persons. (Thivierge, Bethany, (2016).)
Public health may be defined as “a social and political concept aimed at the improving the quality of life among the whole population through health promotion, disease prevention and other forms of health intervention”.(1) The purpose of public health practice is to improve the health of society rather than individuals and reduce health disparities between individuals, groups, and communities through organized effort of the communities, individuals and organizations. As Marmot points out: “creating a fairer society is fundamental to improving the health of the population and ensuring a fairer distribution of good health”.(2) Besides this, the public health field is expanding to tackling new and contemporary risks: obesity, sexually transmitted
Public health is a concept that will always be subject to conflicting opinion. Over the year’s different ‘models’ of health have been formulated in order to categorise public health into dominant areas of cause and effect. The two models in which this essay will be focusing on are the Biomedical Model and the Lifestyle Theory Model. Although both models have equally arguable advantages and disadvantages, it is difficult to state either model as being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in defining the correct pathway to resolving the central health issues of today.
Over the years, the social determinants of health (SDOH) have been receiving more attention due to its importance in determining peoples’ health access, health quality and health outcome. The social determinants of health have been described by various scholars as the situation or environmental condition in which people are born, or where they grow, live and work; unfortunately these conditions have continued to affect and determine people’s ability to access proper care.1-5 In other words, the SDOH continues to consciously and unconsciously influence people’s access to most opportunities in life including access to healthcare services both in developed and developing countries.2 This issues have continue to deteriorate in most developing countries increasing people’s susceptibility to multi-morbidity among different age groups, with a slight increase among the elderly.6
The social class someone belongs to is a major factor in determining how healthy they are. Social class is the most singular reason for differences in health between people in the UK since social class is closely linked to available wealth, itself a key determinant in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Hence, almost all social inequalities which affect health are related to social class. Unsurprisingly people in lower social classes tend to be less healthy than their middle-class counterparts (Warwick-Booth, Cross, and Lowcock, 2012). Geography is an important factor when determining standards of health. On a regional scale geography links to social class. There are clear differences in average life expectancies between different cities in the UK. For example, the life expectancy of men in Manchester is
The dimensions of health make-up and create an image of our overall health. This paper will refer to the dimensions of health in relation to myself, and what health change within one dimension would be beneficial to my health as a whole. Health, as defined by the World Health Organization (2014), is a state of total physical, mental and social well-being, not just when disease, illness or injury are absent (p. 1). My definition of health focuses on feeling well enough to perform everyday tasks and to perform these tasks to the best of my ability.
This also requires the person to be socially and economically productive in order to be seen as healthy. According to Mildred Blaxter (1990), there are different ways of defining health. Furthermore, disease can be seen as the presence of an abnormality in part of the body or where there is a harmful physical change in the body such as broken bones. So, illness is the physical state of disease, that is to say, the symptoms that a person feels because of the disease. However, there is some limitation of these definitions which is not merely an absence of disease but a state of physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing.
The health of an individual and their communities is affected by several elements which combine together. Whether an individual is healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment.1 To a greater extent, factors such as where an individual lives, their relationships with family and friends, the state of their environment, income, genetics and level of education all have significant impacts on health, however the more frequently considered factors such as access and use of health care facilities regularly have less of an impact.6 Determinants of health is a term which was introduced in the 1970s as part of a broader analysis of research and policy on public health. Researchers argued that there was a lot of attention and too much expenditure on health being dedicated to individuals and their illnesses, and little or no investment in populations and their health. It was decided that public health should be more concerned with social policies and social determinants than with health facilities and the outcomes of diseases.7 The determinants of health include social and economic environment, physical environment and an individual’s behaviour and characteristics. The environment of an individual determines their health, holding responsible an individual for having poor health or acknowledging them for good health is inappropriate. Individuals are not likely to be able to control several of the determinants of health. These determinants that make individuals healthy or not include the factors above, and numerous others.6
In some way, public health is seen as a modern philosophical and ideological perspective based on ‘equity’ and aimed to determine inequitable in society. It seen as a ‘science’ and ‘art’ in the sense that it deals with the cause of disease, treatment of illness as well as it involves laboratory experiments, intervention and promoting of health of the population. Winslow (1920, p. 23) defined public health as ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organised community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organisation of medical and nursing service for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health. On the other hand, it is ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organised effort of society’ (Acheson, 1998; in Cowley S, 2002, p. 261).
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in its 1948 constitution as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (Who,1946). The biomedical model of health focuses on the physical and biological aspects of disease and illness. It is a medical model of care practised by doctors and/or health professionals and is associated with the diagnosis, cure and treatment of disease. The Biomedical model of health has been evolving for many years leading to improvements in medical science, technology, increase in cures and treatments ie: increase in vaccinations /immunizations emphasis on diagnosing and treating individuals separately from their lifestyle/living conditions. This model of health concentrates on the disease, illness, or disability and attempts to (cure) return the physical health of the person to a pre-illness state.
Public Health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health through many different ideas and functions by informing society and different community-based organizations. The idea behind Public Health is to protect and serve; it helps improve the lives of countless individuals through promoting a healthier lifestyle, education, research, prevention, detection, and response management. From the beginning, the idea of Public Health has become a stepping-stone that is essential to the longevity of humans and the environment. As society progresses and new advents are created or modified, Public Health
There are numerous public health problems that can be addressed in my Southside of Chicago community. Among the several public health problems facing my Southside of Chicago community there are two that are more urgent. Health education or one might say lack thereof is a problem that needs to be addressed. My community is plagued with many of the residents suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, and the killer virus known as HIV. In most cases these conditions can be prevented with healthier lifestyles and access to nutritious organic foods. In addition, environmental health is another urgent problem my community is facing. Access to clean, safe water and air is supposed to be a fundamental human right aimed at a healthy environment. Yet, my community consists a waste contaminated beach, numerous deteriorated building that are still occupied, and a countless number of restaurant and stores supplying our residents with services that are endangering their health.