The concept of health helps manage policies and support doctors in daily communication with patients. There are different definitions of health; the most common is WHO's seminal and widely accepted definition of health in 1948. However, the definition by WHO as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being" has faced much criticism (Huber et al., 2011). Today, health is defined as the absence of any disease or impairment or the state that allows the individual to cope with all demands of daily life (Let's Learn Public Health, 2020). Finally, it could be defined as a state of balance, an equilibrium that an individual has established within himself and his social and physical environment (Sartorius, 2006). These definitions of health differ as they focus on people's social and personal resources or physical capacity, which WHO did not consider.
Choosing one of the current meanings over the other will result in significant differences. If the absence of disease is what constitutes health, then only a qualified medical professional has the power to declare someone well. People in excellent health may be diagnosed with an undetectable condition due to advances in medical science. As different studies could uncover indications of previously untreatable diseases, people who term themselves healthy could be classified as unhealthy according to the first definition. This definition of health does not consider how a person thinks or feels about their situation. The other two definitions of health recognize that illnesses do not replace people being healthy. While they may have a greater or lesser impact on balance, patients with diseases are always aware of the need to work on two tasks at the same time: first, to remove or alleviate the condition, and second, to create, as best they can, a state of balance within themselves and concerning their environment.
The main criticism of WHO's definition is the word 'complete.' Because WHO was aware of the inclination to see health as a condition depending on the presence or absence of diseases, they added to the definition that a person must be free of sickness to be called healthy. If WHO required perfect health, most of us would be unwell most of the time. In the fight against the stigmatization associated with chronic and acute diseases, such as mental illness or leprosy, the public needs to be educated on the most appropriate definition of health. WHO's definition could not be applicable, and it would make people with disabilities or chronic illnesses adopt a negative self-image in society. However, the health sector cannot shift where health lies on the value spectrum on its own. People's values grow throughout life due to their family, friends, the media, and life experiences. As a result, modifying values, for example, placing a more excellent value on health, should be seen as something other than the duty of the health system. It should be viewed as the responsibility of everyone involved in defining and ranking values.
References
Huber, M., KNOTTNERUS, J. A., SCHNABEL, P., SMITH, R., VAN WEEL HEAD, C., & SMID, H. (2011). Health, how should we define it? BMJ (Overseas and retired doctors ed.), 343(7817), 235-237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23051314
Sartorius, N. (2006). The meanings of health and its promotion. Croatian medical journal, 47(4), 662.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2080455/
Let's Learn Public Health. (2020). Retrieved 5 October 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watchv=zSguDQRjZv0&ab_channel=Let%27sLearnPublicHealth
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