Concept of health

1. Sub. :- Fundamental of
Nursing
Parekh Kishan
P.b.b.sc.
Topic :- Concept of Health

2. Concept of Health :-
•
Health :-
"State of complete physical , mental and social
well- being , not merely the absence of disease
infirmity."
- WHO (1947)
Rem.:- Infirmity - illness(Physically or mentally)
An understanding of health is the basis of all
the health care.

3. Changing concept of Health:-
•Despite the fact that number of messages,
slogans, and idioms are in vogue like
‘Health is Wealth’ etc, health is a neglected
entity. Other needs like wealth, power,
prestige, knowledge, security takes the upper
hand, last in the queue is health. Health is
often taken for granted and its value is not
fully understood until it is lost.

4. Conti...
•Nevertheless, there has been reawakening that health is
basic human right, essential to satisfy human needs and to
lead quality life. Health has to be attained by all. In 1977,
the 30th World Health Assembly decided that the main
social target of governments and WHO in the coming
decades should be the attainment, by all citizens of the
world by the year 2000, of a level of health that will permit
them to lead a socially and economically productive life,
for brevity, called ‘health for all’. With the adoption of
health as an integral part of socio-economic development
by the United Nations in 1979, health, while being an end
in itself, has become a major determinant of overall socio-
economic development and the creation of a new social
order.

5. Conti....
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•
a.
b.
c.
d.
Health is not perceived the same way by all the
members of a community including various
professional groups ( like, biomedical scientist, social
scientists, health administrator, ecological ) giving
rise to confusion about the concept of health.
The various changing concept of the health follows,
Biomedical concept
Ecological concept
Psychological concept
Holistic concept

6. Biomedical concept:-
•
•
Biomedical Concept: Traditionally health was
considered as ‘absence of disease’. An individual was
considered healthy, if he is free from diseases. This
concept is referred to as biomedical concept.
Medically human body is equated to a machine, and
disease was looked as breakdown of machine while
doctor was considered as the repairer of the machine.
Thus, health became the ultimate goal of medicine.
Criticism: Biomedical concept has minimized the
role of other determinants of health namely social,
environmental, psychological and cultural. Thus, was
found inefficient in solving major health related
problems (drug abuse, accidents, malnutrition, etc.).

7. Ecological concept :-
•
•
Ecological Concept: Ecology is defined as the science of mutual
relationship between living organism and their environment. Human
ecology is a part of the science of ecology. Human eco-system
includes all dimensions of man-made environment- physical,
chemical, biological and psychological in addition to natural
environment.
According to the ecologists health is viewed as a dynamic equilibrium
between man and environment, and disease is viewed as an
imbalance between the two. Dubos defined health as ‘Health implies
relative absence of pain and discomfort and a continuous adaptation
and adjustment to the environment to ensure optimal function’.
Human ecological and cultural adaptations do determine not only the
occurrence of disease, but also food security and population
explosion. The ecological concept revolves around two issues: Man
and environment. Adaptation of man to natural environment can
result in prolonged life expectancies and better quality of life even in
the absence of modern health amenities.

8. •
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•
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Man has created new health problems by altering the
environment in terms of various activities like urbanization,
industrialization, deforestation, construction of dams and canals.
Growth of slums and deterioration of environment is the greatest
threat to human health in India. Changes in the human ecology
have resulted in revival / recrudescence of once controlled agents.
Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 highlights the danger of locating
industries in urban area.
Nuclear disaster in Soviet Russia in 1986 is a reminder of
environmental pollution.
Construction of dams, irrigation system and artificial lakes has
created ecological niches favoring breeding of mosquitoes, snails
and spread of diseases
The geographical distribution of almost all diseases is the
ecological factors

9. Psychological concept:-
•Psychological Concept: Developments in
social sciences revealed the fact that health is
not only absence of disease but also is a social,
economic, psychological, cultural and political
entity. These factors should be considered
while measuring health.

10. Holistic Concept :-
•Holistic Concept: This concept encompasses all the
other concepts. The influence of social, economic,
political and environment on health has been well
identified. It has been described as unified or
multidimensional process of achieving well being of a
person in the context of environment. This concept
corresponds to the view of ancient population that
health implies sound mind in a sound body in a sound
family and in a sound environment. The holistic
approach indicates that all sectors of the society have
an influence on health particularly agriculture, animal
husbandry, food, industry, education, housing, public
works, communication and alike, with emphasis on
promotion and protection of health.

11. "Good public health
is basically good
health"