Meaning of Health
"Health is Wealth". This saying rightly translates Health into wealth. Because if you are healthy you can enjoy all happiness and joy of life but if you are not well, all confront, luxury and treasures are useless.
Traditionally Health is looked as a physical well-being. But with expansion, of the knowledge and understanding. the restricted meaning of Health was broadened to cover psychological (mental) well-being. If you are physically fit but mentally disturbed you can not enjoy the wordily confronts. Even a strong person can be easily defeated, if he is feeble mentally. And that's why the consensus emerged to include mental fitness in the definition of Health.
The necessity to include social fitness along with physical and mental fitness started emerging in the second half of the twentieth century. World Health Organisation (WHO), the premier organization of the health, working worldwide, has proposed a definition of Health embracing all the three dimensions. "Health is a physical, mental and social well-being and not merely absence of any disease or infirmity."
Merely absence of any disease does not make any person completely healthy. but along with absence of the disease a person's ability to carry out day to day activities without any discomfort and having the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction is Health in real sense.
Dimensions of Health
As per the definition of the Health by WHO, Health has three dimensions.
1. Physical
2. Mental (Psychological)
3. Social
Meaning of Physical Health
Physical health is much more than the absence of the disease. It means that our body, each part-organ, system, tissue, cell-are working to the best of their efficiency. Thus, it is more concerned with the "Working Capacity" than the "Presence/Absence of disease".
Meaning of Psychological Health
Insane or mentally impaired person can be immediately recognized as mentally diseased. But over and above such apparent mental conditions there are a number of mental ailments, which otherwise a physically healthy person can suffer from. Physical illness can be easily recognized as it leads to numerous physical complaints and signs. But this is not the case with various mental illness, especially minor mental illness. Therefore it is quite difficult to identity the mental ailments, and also the mental health.
Mental health can be identified by the communication and behavior of the person. If the person if found stable for the three parameters mentioned below, the person can be considered mentally health.
1. Knows and understands his capacities and deficiencies.
2. Develops happy and healthy behavior with others.
3. Can react and live accordingly, to all the ups and downs of life.
Meaning of Social Health
Human being is a 'social animal'. Existence of social system and social life makes him different from others in the living kingdom. Therefore human has to be healthy in the social context and the social health is included in the modern definition of Health.
Socially healthy means a person having good/healthy relationships and interactions with other individuals groups, organisations.
Other dimension of Health
Besides these three dimensions, "Spiritual Health" is also gaining importance with general health.
Levels of Health
Health is not a condition that once it is achieved, will remain constant forever. It keeps on changing. Therefore never be carefree that once if you have attained good health, it will be there for lifetime. To keep up the good health you have to be vigilant and active constantly. It is similar to the students when you jump into the water and float back to the surface, but thereafter you have to constantly move your arms and legs to stop from sinking and remain on the surface.
Like a rainbow health has also seven colors.
Epidemiological (Environmental) concept of Health
Now, you are clear about the never definition of Health. Let's try to understand how this newer definition has come up. Previously, because of prevailing knowledge, the definition of health was restricted to 'Body' alone. We used to think of diseases when "Bodily" complaint or dis-function emerged. But later on it was realized that "surroundings" has tremendous capacity to exert positive and negative influence over the human body and mind. Negative factors in the environment can create imbalance in Physical, Mental and Social Health.
Three Determinants influencing the Human Health
1. Human factors
2. Environmental Factors (Physical, Psycho-social environment)
3. Biological and other adverse factors
Interrelationship between these determinants
In the epidemiological concept of health, physical, mental-(emotional) social (and various other factors linked to it.) are three pillars. The stronger they are, higher we are on the health spectrum. In the picture shown below the interrelationship between these three are portrayed. The area created by the interception of three circles represent "Health area".
With the understanding of relationship among these three determinants of Health, you can better understand their collective influence on your health. You must have observed around, that if, a person is weak physically he falls ill frequently in-spite of normal surrounding. When surroundings are dirty, unhygienic, full of dirty collection of water, no facility for sewage and polluted air, then people living there frequently fall ill in-spite of having normal physical capabilities. In normal environment a person who is physically weak falls ill easily and more frequently, but a person who is physically robust is comparatively spared from the illness.
Attainment of Complete Health
After understanding the epidemiological concept of health, you must have realized that they are also equally important for your well-being. To attain positive Health, good nutrition, balanced diet, immunization, healthy behavior and personal hygiene are not enough. Appropriate balance of emotions, social environment-healthy relationships and environmental cleanliness are equally important along with physical health. With better understanding of the epidemiological concept of health and by keeping adequate and appropriate balance these pillars of health you can definitely attain highest level of Health - the positive health.
Comments
Post a Comment