Today, three types of definition of health seem possible and are used
- The first is that health is the absence of any disease or harm.
- The second is that health is a condition that allows a person to cope adequately with all the demands of daily life (having to adequately cope with the absence of sickness and absence)
- The third definition states that health is a state of equilibrium, a balance that a person has established within himself and between himself and his social and physical environment.
The consequences of adopting one of these definitions are considerable. If health is defined as the absence of disease, then a medical profession is one that can declare a person healthy. With the advancement of therapy, individuals who are declared healthy today may be found to be diseased tomorrow as more advanced methods of investigation may show symptoms of a disease that was not previously diagnosed. How a person feels about his state is not relevant in the health paradigm.
How people around reflect a person's behavior and appearance is only relevant if their comments are the standard of inequality that the medical profession has created. The measurement of the health status of the population is also simple and will not exceed the count of those who, on examination, show defining symptoms of the disease and compare their numbers with those who do not.
The definitions described above have obvious difficulties with the first and second and their consequences. There are individuals who have abnormalities that can be counted as a symptom of a disease but do not feel ill. There are other people whose body tissue changes are not visible but who feel ill and do not function well.
There are those who hear voices and therefore may be candidates for psychiatric screening and possibly treatment - but do not live well in their community nor ask for medical care. There are a significant number of people who have peptic ulcers and other diseases, have no problem, do not know they have a disease and do not want treatment for it. Some of these individuals will also avoid another type of definition of health as they operate according to their age and the gender group of the general population.
The third definition outlined above depends on health whether a person has established a state of equilibrium within themselves and with the environment. This means that people with a disease or impairment will be perceived as being healthy to a level defined by their ability to establish inner balance that can get them the most from their lives despite the presence of the disease.
Health will thus be a dimension of human existence that exists regardless of the presence of diseases, somewhat like the sky which remains even when covered by clouds. The benefit of this definition is that diseases do not replace the health of individuals: they can affect their balance more or less severely but, at all times, patients who are suffering from a disease (and their doctors) must be treated with their Is aware of the need.
To work together on two tasks - one to remove or reduce disease and the other to establish a state of equilibrium, as much as they can, in relation to themselves and their environment.
This definition is also useful in fighting the stigma associated with many chronic and some acute illnesses - such as mental disorders or leprosy - because it lets us speak and think about our patients, who are in different dimensions (including health).
And one who suffers has a point, a disease - and thus gives us "diabetes" instead of "schizophrenic" or "person with diabetes" rather than "schizophrenic" and "person with diabetes". A person who has "." Is a leper.
Another important consequence of working with this definition of health. To determine whether a person is in good health according to this definition, a doctor must find out how individuals who have the disease feel how the disease affects their life. Is, how they propose to fight their disease or live with it.
The presence of laboratory findings and symptoms are thus important and necessary elements in thinking about the state of health and the presence of a disease but are not sufficient to reach a decision about one's health: it is necessary to look at the context of the disease Is a person who has to make decisions regarding his level of health.
There is little doubt about the fact that going about treatment of diseases in this way will improve the practice of medicine and make it more realistic as well as more human effort.
The definition of health is also affected by differences in the definition of health. The simplest definition of health - equality with absence of disease - will give rise to the definition
