Toward a New Definition of Health: An Overview
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
To promote the health of its people, society must do more than treat known diseases, it must upgrade environmental and social conditions, enable people to live a healthier, less stressful life-style, and focus on promoting the well-being of the “whole person” in the context of his social network.
Abstract
Recent developments in medicine, in mental health, and in the social sciences have called attention to the fact that the concepts "disease" and "health" can no longer be adequately defined in purely medical terms of the presence or absence of "symptoms." We know, for example, that disease may exist in the absence of observed symptoms; that the incidence of disease in human groups is influenced by such demographic characteristics as age, social class, ethnicity, place of residence; and that the very labels "disease" and "health" are culturally determined. Similarly, we know that to promote the health of its people, society must do more than treat known diseases. It must upgrade environmental and social conditions, enable people to live a healthier, less stressful life-style, and focus on promoting the well-being of the "whole person" in the context of his social network.