THE CONCEPTS OF HEALTH

PROMOTION
Sarpong A. Peter

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 INTRODUCTION
 Health promotion is about raising the health
status of individuals, families and the
community.
 The World Health Organization (WHO)
defines health promotion as the process of
enabling individuals to take control over the
determinants of their health and improve their
health.
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 Health education is an integral and a very
important aspect of promoting peoples health
within the new public health concept.
 This means that health education is one of the
component of health promotion.
 The two (2) other components are health
prevention and health protection.
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CONT’
In summary, the three (3) components of health  These three integrated and overlapping
promotion are; components gives the individual the power to
 Health Prevention (P) control and improve their health.

 Health Protection (P)

 Health Education (E)
Acronym Health PPE

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 THE CONCEPT OF HEALTH
 Peoples idea of health or being healthy varies  Some view health as a situation of no illness.
widely.  Others are of the view that building up
These are shaped and based on; strength and having resistance to infections is
 Their experiences health.

 Knowledge  Some are of the view that, having a smaller

family size and having the capability to cope
 Values and expectations as well as their views and function as expected is health.
of what they are expected to do in their
 Others believe the absence of disease in the
everyday lives, and the fitness they need to
fulfil that role. individual is health.

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 DEFINITIONS OF HEALTH
• Health is a broader term and has been defined
in so many ways by different scholars and
some institutions. A selected few includes the
following.
 It is the state of complete physical, mental
and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity (WHO 1948).
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 It may be expressed as the degree of
conformity to accepted standards of a given
criteria in terms of basic conditions of age,
sex, community and region within limits of
variation, (WHO 1957).
 A state of moral and physical well-being,
which enable man to face any crisis with the
utmost ability and grace, (Pericles 1976).
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 DIMENSIONS/COMPONENTS OF HEALTH

• There are five (5) main dimensions of health. These

includes;
• Social health (S)
• Physical health (P)
• Emotional health (E)
• Mental health/cognitive (M)
• Spiritual health (S)
• Acronym SPEMS
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CONT’
Some other scholars also includes or considers two
(2) additional dimensions of health
Environmental health
Vocational health or occupational Health.
NB; these five (5) dimensions of health provides a full
picture of health as a change in any dimension affects
the other.

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 SOCIAL HEALTH
Social dimension of health refers to our ability to make and
maintain meaningful relationships with others.
Giving love and respect to others is an important factor of
social health.
In short, a socially healthy person makes friends easily and
keeps them, do not quarrel with others, and is considerate and
kind.

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CONT’
PHYSICAL HEALTH
The physical dimension of health refers to the bodily aspect of health.
It refers to the more traditional definition of health as the absence of
disease and injury.
In other words a physically healthy person is active, does not get tired
easily, does not get sick easily, is strong and is full of energy.
It also refers to the condition of the body and the way it reacts to
diseases.

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In order to maintain a good physical health, you need to eat
nutritious food, to exercise and to take enough sleep and rest.

• NB; Physical health can affect the other dimensions of health

as a decline in physical health can result in a decline in other
forms of health. Eg. A person who suddenly gets flu is often
isolated socially as to not infect others. He/she may feel sad
as a result of the isolation.

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CONT’
EMOTIONAL HEALTH SPIRITUAL HEALTH
 It is about the persons mood or general  The spiritual health dimension refers to a
emotional state. person’s belief in God, sense of values and
 It is the ability to recognize and express ability to exercise what he believes is right.
feelings adequately.  A persons religious faith also contributes to
 People who are emotionally healthy are able his health and well-being.
to cope with life’s challenges.

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CONT’
MENTAL HEALTH • Mental health is more the functioning of the
brain, while emotional health refers to the
• This is the psychological well-being or persons’ mood often connected to their
absence of mental illness. hormones.
• This also refers to the cognitive aspect of • It refers to the person’s ability to use their
health. brain and think upright.
• Most often mental health is linked to or
includes emotional health, I want to
distinguish the two.

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 MODELS OF HEALTH
Smith (1983) describes four (4) distinct models
of health. They includes; CLINICAL MODEL
 Clinical model  This is the conventional model of medicine. It
indicates health as the absence of signs and
 Role performance model
symptoms of disease.
 Adaptive model
 People who use this model may not seek
 Eudemonistic model preventive health care.
 May wait till they see signs and symptoms
before they seek Care.

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CONT’
ROLE PERFORMANCE MODEL ADAPTIVE MODEL
 One's ability to perform social roles means  This model views health as one's ability to
one has health. adapt to social, mental and physiological
 The ability to look after the family, work and changes.
social roles are used to assess health.  Illness occurs when one fails to adapt to these
 Performance is based on expectations from changes.
society. This forms the basis for medical
exams for schools and work place.

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CONT’
EUDEMONISTIC MODEL
 This model deals with exuberant well-being as
an indicator of health.
 It embodies the relationship between physical,
social, psychological and spiritual aspects of
life.

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 THE DETERMINANT OF HEALTH
Many factors combine together to The determinants of health
affect the health of individuals and Many factors combine to determine whether a person will be healthy or
communities. not. These factors includes the following;
Physical environment -safe water and clean air, healthy workplaces,
Whether people are healthy or not, is waste disposal, safe houses, communities and roads all contribute to
determined by their circumstances good health
and environment. To a large extent, Socio-economic/Cultural factors
factors such as where we live, the They include;
state of our environment, genetics, Social status
our income and educational level, Cultural beliefs and practice
and our relationships with friends Food taboo
and family all have considerable Level of education
impacts on health, whereas the more Income levels
commonly considered factors such Occupation
as access and use of health care Relationship with others
services often have less of an impact.
Social support-greater support from families and communities is linked
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CONT’
 Genetics/Biological factor - • 6.Gender-men and women suffer from
hereditary/inheritance plays a part in different types of diseases at different ages.
determining lifespan, healthiness and the Some conditions are specific to gender for
likelihood of developing certain Illness. example pregnancy disorders are associated
 Lifestyle - personal behavior and coping with women where as prostate cancer is
skills such as good eating habits, balanced common with men.
eating, keeping active, smoking, drinking, and • Additionally children recover from illness
how we deal with life's stresses and challenges better than the aged.
all affect health.
 Health services-access and use of services that
prevent and treat diseases influence health as
well as the quality of these services available
to individuals from health care providers is a
major factor that determines the health of the
population.
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SOME WAYS OF MAINTAINING OUR HEALTH
 Take enough rest and sleep at least 8 hours
daily
 Have adequate and regular exercise at least 3
times a week.
 Eat balanced diet. If possible avoid junk foods
and fatty foods.
 Learn to properly deal with problems.
 Maintain harmonious relationship with family
members, friends and other people in your
community.
 Do your responsibilities, and for students
study well
 Have a regular check-up.
An ounce of prevention is Worth a pound of
cure.

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