Definition of Health

In 1948 the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization, n.d.) This WHO definition has remained unchanged for over sixty years. With today’s aging population, and portion of individuals with chronic illness the WHO definition of health does not hold.

After 1960s the life expectancy of people increased due to availability of medication, more hospital services, and improved technology. According to a study done in eight industrialized countries including Canada, it was discovered that “At age sixty-five, mean life expectancy for men in 1996 ranged from 14.8 years in the United Kingdom to 16.9 years in Japan. For women, it ranged from 18.3 years in the united Kingdom to 21.5 years in Japan” (Gerad F Anderson, 2000) The increased life expectancy after age 65, is partially responsible for the increased need for health care in the past few decades. In the United States and in Canada, one in six elderly people needed home care due to various illnesses (Gerad F Anderson, 2000). If the health is complete physical, mental, and social well-being most of the aging population would be considered as completely unhealthy.

As the population ages, the proportion of the population living with chronic illnesses increases too. Christine Walker explains in her article, “Recognising the changing boundaries of illness in defining terms of chronic illness” that the World Health Organization acknowledges that there is a relationship between the aging population and increased prevalence of chronic illness. (Walker, 2001). Even though most of the people with chronic illnesses mange to lead a normal and satisfying lives with the help of medication and lifestyle changes they will never achieve complete state of physical well-being according to the WHO’s definition.

In an age and time that there are increased demand for a new definition of health, Fabio Leonardi, in his 2018 article, “The definition of Health: Towards new prospective” has proposed a new definition of health as being “the capability to cope with and to manage one’s own malaise and well-being conditions. In more operative terms, health may be conceptualized as the capability to react to all kinds of environmental events having the desired emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses and avoiding those undesirable ones.” (Leonardi, 2018)

In this new proposed definition of Health, the author suggests that health should not be a state to reach, instead Health should be an ongoing dynamic and complex process which any individual should be able to achieve regardless of their age, race ethnicity, and social economical state and should be based on personal priorities, needs and expectations.

In my experience as a primary care giver for two aging parents with chronic illnesses, I agree with Fabio Lenardi’s definition more than the world health Organization’s definition.

Both my parents are able to live a normal satisfactory life while using medication and life style changes to manage their chronic illnesses. They might never achieve the state of complete physical health but with proper management will definitely live a comfortable life.

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/constitution

Gerad F Anderson, P. S. (2000). Population Aging:A comparison among Industrialized countries. Health Affairs.

Leonardi, F. (2018). The definition of Health: Towards new prospective. International journal of Health Services, 735-748.

Walker, C. (2001). Recognising the changing boundaries of illness in defining terms of chronic illness. Australian Health review, 207-214.