What Does Health Mean to You: a Thought-provoking Question

What does health mean to you? In the essay I reveal this particular question as it can attract different answers from different individuals based on their background, geographical location, life experience, etc. Generally, people tend to define things, mostly, based on their understanding and experience. This is, therefore, why ascribing a single definition to health is somewhat difficult. Evidently, the internet is filled with different views and definitions of health which has made it more challenging for a consensus to be reached on a general definition of health.

However, according to Svalastog, Donev, Kristoffersen and Gajovic, giving a historical and chronological health overview and showing the development of hypothesized health ideas over time should be the best approach to ascribing a proper definition to health. Basically, it would be difficult to capture the definition of health with this approach, owing to the fact that there are so many diseases and monitoring them individually would not be feasible. Nordenfelt on the other hand, suggested that health should be defined based on a normative formulation. This pattern is, therefore, limited to the abilities and goals of the individual and is considered incomplete. More so, Boorse opined that a statistical approach is the best way to define health. This approach was, however, rejected as it has no connection with people’s experiences of health. More recently, Sturmberg proposed that health should be defined based on social, somatic, psychological and semiotic experience of individuals. This pattern of defining health is more holistic and aligns with the health definition of some published researches.

However, Farlex Medical Dictionary adopted a rather narrow approach in defining health. Farlex defined health as “a relative state in which one is able to function well physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually in order to express the full range of one's unique potentialities within the environment in which one is living.” In my opinion, this definition connotes positivity. The “ability to function well” as described by the author portrays energy, strength and could be accompanied by the sense of accomplishment. On the other hand, the definition narrows these potentials down to the “environment in which the individual lives”; what happens when the individual is not “within” that environment? This narrow approach makes the Farlex definition barely relevant in all cases. Furthermore, the Cambridge Dictionary came up with a more positive definition of health; as “the condition of the body and the degree to which it is free from illness or the state of being well”. Even with the positivity portrayed with the key terms; “free” and “being well”, the definition failed to recognize the impact our emotions have in our well - being. Someone can possess a healthy body but have a very sick mind. According to the psychosocial health model as explained by Taukeni, our lifestyle and behavior has a huge influence on our health and vice versa. This model threatens the validity of the Cambridge Dictionary definition of health.

According to Nozick, a holistic definition of health should recognize the impact of key factors like the social, economic, psychological and environmental well – being of the individual’s health. This is the approach adopted by the World Health Organisation, WHO in defining health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well -being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmary.” This implies that for someone to be considered healthy, the person must possess a perfectly functioning body (physically healthy), be in harmony with the surrounding people and environment (mentally healthy) and also have a reasonable involvement with the community (socially healthy).

In my opinion, health should be defined as the state in which an individual can consciously function well physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and socially without external support. This definition accommodates the psychosocial, biomedical and other health models which makes it very similar to the WHO definition; except for the spiritual assertion. The spiritual health in this context portrays the individual’s principles of ethics, integrity as well as commitment to a higher being. The Farlex Medical Dictionary, which was earlier analyzed, conforms to this perception, though in a less holistic manner. The thought-provoking question still remains: is there really a way to capture the full concept of health?