How do you define health in 2023?
- Shabin Mere
- Oct 9, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2023
The 1948 definition of health outlined by the World Health Organization describes this term as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2023). In this millennium, 60 years after the WHO published this definition, the Government of Canada (2008) asked Canadians for their perspective on how they think they have kept being healthy. The common responses given were because of luck or family history, however, most Canadians recognize it is attributed to their lifestyle such as their eating habits, wellness activities to cope with stress, or minimizing unhealthy habits such as drinking or tobacco use.
Lifestyle is only one factor of what defines or comprises ‘health’ because there are more factors to what make up the health of a person. Health can be identified as good or bad based on what aspects apply to the individual in their time of life, and what resources they can access to allow a healthy physical, mental, and social well-being outcome. The Government of Canada (2008) mentions that the Ottawa Charter of Health Promotion document upholds that to “reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment” ("First International Conference on health promotion, Ottawa, 21 November 1986," n.d.) The Government of Canada suggests that “Social well-being is an important aspect of this definition that may not always occur to us in thinking about our health” (Government of Canada, 2008).
Fallon and Karwalish (2019), wrote an interesting article about an 82-year woman with a history of breast cancer, multiple co-morbidities, needing frequent medical appointments, and being on multiple medications to manage her chronic diseases.Abouto the WHO's definition of health, she would not fit that definition simply because she is not without a disease or illness. However, when asked if she sees herself as being healthy, she clearly states she does because in her perspective “[s]he enjoys her spacious apartment, two cats, close friends, and 50-gallon fish tank” (para. 2). This woman demonstrates a healthy social well-being in today’s world because “[h]aving [a] disease and feeling healthy are no longer mutually exclusive, especially for older adults. Managing multiple diseases is the norm for older [adults]” (Fallon & Karwalish, 2019, para. 5).
Other criticism noted in a peer-reviewed journal states “The World Health Organization's … definition of health is by far the best known and most widely used. But it is not a practical definition, and is especially ill-suited to the emerging era of value-based care … In practical terms, this insistence on impossible perfection makes the definition unusable” (Card, 2017, pp. 127-128). If today the WHO were to redefine health, it would need to consider this era of chronic disease management, factoring in the expanded medical breakthroughs that have taken place with medication, treatments, rehabilitation programs, and even cancer management or end-of-life care.
References
Card, A. J. (2017). Moving beyond the WHO definition of health: A new perspective for an aging world
and the emerging era of value-based care. World Medical & Health Policy, 9(1), 127-137.
Fallon, C. K., & Karlawish, J. (2019, July 17). It’s time to change the definition of ‘health’. Stat News.
First International Conference on health promotion, Ottawa, 21 November 1986. (n.d.). World Health
Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/first-
Frequently asked questions. (2023). World Health Organization (WHO).
Government of Canada. (2008, September 12). What is health? Retrieved October 8, 2023, from
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