In 1946 WHO defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (Spijk, 2015). This definition was ahead of it’s time in its efforts to move to a more holistic view of health rather than one that just focused on a medical model. It was also a necessary step because as Spijk points out in his article “On human health” defining health gives guidance, direction and focus to the medical community. This helps with policy formation, health equity approaches and finding commonality among stakeholders. The problem however is that this definition goes “far beyond the scope of health designating a Utopian goal, a goal that actually aspires to some sort of paradise on earth.” (Spijk, 2015). This means the absence of this Utopian ideal of health would mean that a person is unhealthy.
There are two ways of looking at improvements to the definition of health by the WHO one that takes individual beliefs into account and one that provides more direction for policy makers to allow them to reach a common ground. We will first look at the individual; Spijk argued for a new definition that considers the distinction between great health and small health to define the absence of disease and illness. Small health looks at disease and illness and great health considers ones “sense of illness” (Spijk, 2015). This definition allows for a person to consider themselves healthy even when they are suffering from a health condition preventing them from being labelled under the Utopian definition of health as unhealthy. The second definition meant to strengthen integration and cooperation across the healthcare system is through use of the Meikirch Model. “Meikirch Model of Health posits that: Health is a state of wellbeing emergent from conducive interactions between individuals’ potentials, life’s demands, and social and environmental determinants. Health results through the life course when individuals’ potentials – and social and environmental determinants – suffice to respond satisfactorily to the demands of life. Life’s demands can be physiological, psychosocial, or environmental, and vary across contexts, but in every case unsatisfactory responses lead to disease”. (Bircher & Kuruvilla, 2014) by allowing for multiple definitions of health it satisfies the needs of different end users.
Works Cited
Bircher, J., & Kuruvilla, S. (2014). Defining health by addressing individual, social, and environmental determinants: New opportunities for health care and public health. Journal of Public Health Policy, 35, 363-386.
Spijk, P. v. (2015). On human health. Medical Health Care and Philosophy, 18, 245-251.
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