CHANGING CONCEPTS IN HEALTH

• Concept of health
• Changing concepts
• Definitions of health
• New philosophy of health
• Dimensions of health
• Positive health
• The relative concept
• Concept of well being
• Spectrum of health
• Determinants of health
• Ecology of health
• Right to health
 Concepts of health
• Biomedical

• Ecological

• Psychosocial

• Holistic
 Concepts of health
Biomedical Concept: Health has been
viewed as an absence of disease & of one
was free from disease, then the person
was considered healthy.

Ecological Concept: Health as a dynamic

equilibrium between man & his
environment & disease a maladjustment of
the human organism to the environment.
Psychosocial Concept: Contemporary
developments in social sciences revealed
that health is not only a biomedical
phenomenon, but one which is influenced
by social, psychological, cultural,
economic & political factors of the people
concerned.

Holistic Concept: It is described as unified or

multidimensional process involving the
well being of whole person on the context
of his environment.
 Definitions of health

Webster Dictionary: The condition of being

sound in body, mind or spirit especially
freedom from physical disease or pain.

Oxford English Dictionary: “Soundness of

body or mind, that condition in which its
functions are duly & effectively discharged.
 WHO DEFINITION

“Health is a state of complete physical,

mental and social wellbeing and not merely
an absence of disease or infirmity”. It also
includes the ability to lead a socially and
economically productive life.
 DIMENSIONS OF HEALTH

1} PHYSICAL: The state pf physical health

implies the notion of perfect functioning of
the body. It conceptualizes health
biologically as a state in which every cell &
every organ is functioning at optimum
capacity & in perfect harmony with the rest
of the body.
A. Physical health
A person who enjoys good physical health is one who -
􀁺 is energetic
􀁺 has good posture
􀁺 weighs normal for age and height
􀁺 has all body organs functioning normally
􀁺 has a clear and clean skin
􀁺 has bright eyes
􀁺 has good textured and shining hair
􀁺 has a clean breath
􀁺 has a good appetite
􀁺 gets sound sleep
MENTAL: It is defined as a state of balance
between individual & the surrounding
world, a state of harmony between oneself
& others, a co-existence between the
realities of the self & that of other people &
that of environment.
SPPIRITUAL: It refers to that part of
individual which reaches out & strives for
meaning & purpose in life. It includes
integrity, principle & ethics, the purpose in
life, commitment to some higher being &
belief in concepts.
EMOTIONAL
VOCATIONAL
OTHERS
Changing Concepts in
Public Health
Disease control phase(1880-1920)
• Sanitary control
Health Promotional Phase
(1920-1960)
• Health promotion
Social Engineering Phase
(1960-1980)
• Social and behavioral aspects of life
Health for all phase
(1981-2000)
• To lead a socially and economically viable
life
 POSITIVE HEALTH
The state of positive health implies the notion of
perfect functioning of the body & mind. It
conceptualizes health,
Biologically, as a state in which every cell & organ
is functioning at optimum capacity & in perfect
harmony with the rest of the body.
Psychologically, as a state in which the individuals
feels a sense of perfect well-being & of mastery
over his environment.
Socially, as a state in which the individual
capacities for the participation in the social
system are optimal.
SPECTRUM OF HEALTH

Positive health
Better health
Freedom from sickness

Unrecognized sickness
Mild sickness
Severe sickness
Death
 SPECTRUM OF HEALTH
Health and disease lie along a continuum,
and there is no single cut off point.
The lowest point on health-disease
spectrum is death and the highest point
corresponds to the WHO definitions of
health.
 DETERMINANTS OF
HEALTH
BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANT:
The physical & mental trait of every human
beings are to some extent determined by
the nature of his genes at the moment of
conception. The genetic make-up is so
unique that it cannot be altered after
conception.
BEHAVIURAL & SOCIO-CULTURAL:
It is composed of cultural & behavioral
patterns & life long personal habits that
have developed through the process of
socialization.
ENVIRONMENT: It is classified as
Internal: Internal environment of man
pertains to each & every component part,
every tissue, organ system & their
harmonious functioning within the system.
External: Consist of those things to which
is exposed after conception,
It is defined as all that which is external to
the individual human host.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC: Socio-economic
condition have long been known to
influence human health.
For the majority worlds people health is
determined primarily by their level of
socio-economic development.
These of major importance are,
a) Economic status
b) Education
c) Occupation
d) Political system
HEALTH SERVICES

AGING OF POPULATION

GENDER
 Ecology of health
• Humanity should seen as a part of
ecosystem. It includes natural as well as
man made environment. Disease is
embedded in the ecosystem of man.
• Constantly altering of his ecosystem
creates new health problems
• Good public health is basically good
ecology
 Right to health
• Everyone has the right to a standard of
living adequate for the health and well
being of himself and family.- Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

• One of the fundamental rights of every

human being is to enjoy the highest
attainable standard of health- The
preamble to the WHO constitution.
• In some countries Right to health
protection is assured by comprehensive
system of Social insurance that provides
material security in cases of illness or
accident.
• When resources are limited Govt cannot
provide all necessary health services, so
they try to give equal right to available
health services
 References
• Park’s Text book of Preventive and
Social Medicine, 19th ed:
• Wikipedia
Thank you