Prior to researching this topic, I thought I would share my owns beliefs about health. As a child I was led to believe health and healthy living was web of ideologies, such as following Canada’s food guide and participating in some form of exercise. I was shielded from other more relevant interpretations until my teenage years where I volunteered at a food bank. This opportunity provided a different view of the world. Of course I was aware of the disparity between various neighbourhoods as we drove around our city, this was obvious to some degree. We struggled like other families, but I never worried about food or shelter. Participation in formal education, i.e., primary and secondary school was an expectation not a choice. I didn’t give it much thought until post-secondary school where we discussed health and healthy living, determinants of health, pharmaceuticals and disease processes.
Huber (2011) suggests the definition for “health” used by the World Health Organization (WHO) is outdated, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” He affirms, it’s impossible to have complete health given the evolving standards of our health care system and continued research into various disease processes. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) provides a universal interpretation of health, including “peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, social justice and equity.” Participants pledged to:
Work with government agencies to improve health equity for its citizens.
Reduce products detrimental to health and well-being.
Strive to ensure the people have the know-how to drive their care and support others within their community
To focus on preventative health and advocate for healthy living as a cost saving measure.
Blomqvist et al (2017) studied outpatients with severe mental illness in order to quantify health and healthy living. They identified the importance of a support network, finding meaning through work or everyday activities, and trying to build coping mechanisms to improve one’s health. Given the ever-changing landscape of one’s interpretation of health and well-being, the definition used by the WHO needs revision to meet current expectations related to healthy living.
References
Blomqvist, M., Sandgren, A., Carlsson, I. M., & Jormfeldt, H. (2018). Enabling healthy living: Experiences of people with severe mental illness in psychiatric outpatient services. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 27(1), 236-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12313
Canadian Public Health Association. What are the social determinants of health? Retrieved Feb 6, 2021 from https://www.cpha.ca/what-are-social-determinants-health
Health Canada. (2019). Healthy Living. Retrieved Feb 6, 2021 from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-living.html
Huber, M. (2011). Health: How Should We Define it? British Medical Journal, 343(7818), 235-237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23051314
Oregon Health & Science University. (2014, June 24). What is Health? [Video]. Retrieved Feb 6, 2021 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI1OXWIQf3k
World Health Organization. (1986). Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion: An International Conference on Health Promotion: The Move Towards a New Public Health, November 17-21, 1986, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. WHO. Retrieved Feb 6, 2021from:
Sartorius N. (2006). The meanings of health and its promotion. Croatian Medical Journal, 47(4), 662–664. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2080455/
World Health Organization. (1998). Health Promotion Glossary. Retrieved Feb 6, 2021 from https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/about/HPR%20Glossary%201998.pdf
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