Short Paper

Short Paper: Defining Health and Identifying Influences on Healthcare Policy

June 29th, 2014

The definition of health is defined by the World Health Organization as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization) The WHO set that definition in 1948, and I personally feel that it is still definitely applicable to today’s standards. Obviously the world has changed a lot in the past 66 years and so have the thoughts and ideas of many people. I think the reason the World Health Organizations definition of health is still applicable today because the definition really is broad and can cover a lot of areas.

There are people and groups out there who believe that the definition of health needs to be changed in order to make changes. Some people believe that “How an individual feels about his or her state is not relevant in this paradigm of health and how the surrounding people judge the behavior and appearance of an individual is only relevant if their observations are congruent with the criteria of abnormality that the medical profession has produced.” (Sartorious, Aug 2006) I believe that this author is looking into the WHO health definition just a little too much. The WHO definition is just that, a definition. Because health is defined a certain way doesn’t mean things can’t be changed when needed.

Just about everybody can agree that health can be split into two broad aspects, physical and mental health. Physical health means “good body health, which is healthy because of regular physical activity (exercise), good nutrition, and adequate rest.” (Medical News Today, 2013) Physical wellbeing is another term used for physical health. When anybody mentions the word health, most people relate it to physical health or wellbeing. Physical health can be split up into two different sections, chemical health and structural health. Chemical health means “the chemicals in the...