Health Determinants
Health is a broad term, covering many different aspects of people’s lives. Multiple definitions exist, ranging from a very narrow biomedical or physical definition (the absence of negative biologic circumstances such as altered DNA or abnormal physiologic states) to the World Health Organization’s definition that health is a state of “physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
Many studies have shown that people who are healthy tend to live longer, have less disability, and are more likely to be employed. These factors are often referred to as the ‘health determinants’: factors that influence how and whether people can be healthy. They include: the quality of the natural environment; the built environment; people’s access to resources; their work and living conditions; their health behaviors; and their social networks. Some of these factors are risk, and some are protective.
There are a number of reasons for the diversity of views on what is needed to improve health, and there are trade-offs between the focus on specific health determinants and the breadth of health in terms of its outcomes and contexts. For example, some people argue that a definition that focuses on the ability to participate in society excludes experiential elements such as pain and low mood that might be relevant for the experience of health.
Other people argue that a more broad definition of health is necessary to capture the importance of non-medical aspects of health, and to avoid the perception that the only important issues are those related to health care delivery and medical interventions. This approach allows health improvement efforts to address modifications of behavior that are influenced by forces beyond individual choice, including environmental and genetic endowment, as well as those directly influencing the health status of individuals, such as smoking and sedentary lifestyles.
A further argument is that a broad definition of health will allow people to take an active role in improving their own health by changing health-promoting behaviors such as diet, exercise and stress management. This can be particularly important in communities where there is a strong sense of collective responsibility for the health of individuals and of the community as a whole. The health determinants concept has been developed to help in this process by providing a framework for understanding the wide range of factors that influence the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. It is a useful tool in the development of public policy and in the design of interventions to support people’s healthy lifestyle choices.
Health is a broad term, covering many different aspects of people’s lives. Multiple definitions exist, ranging from a very narrow biomedical or physical definition (the absence of negative biologic circumstances such as altered DNA or abnormal physiologic states) to the World Health Organization’s definition that health is a state of “physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Many studies have shown that people who are healthy tend to live longer, have less disability, and are more likely to be employed. These factors are often referred to as the ‘health determinants’: factors that influence how and whether people can be healthy. They include: the quality of the natural environment; the built environment; people’s access to resources; their work and living conditions; their health behaviors; and their social networks. Some of these factors are risk, and some are protective. There are a number of reasons for the diversity of views on what is needed to improve health, and there are trade-offs between the focus on specific health determinants and the breadth of health in terms of its outcomes and contexts. For example, some people argue that a definition that focuses on the ability to participate in society excludes experiential elements such as pain and low mood that might be relevant for the experience of health. Other people argue that a more broad definition of health is necessary to capture the importance of non-medical aspects of health, and to avoid the perception that the only important issues are those related to health care delivery and medical interventions. This approach allows health improvement efforts to address modifications of behavior that are influenced by forces beyond individual choice, including environmental and genetic endowment, as well as those directly influencing the health status of individuals, such as smoking and sedentary lifestyles. A further argument is that a broad definition of health will allow people to take an active role in improving their own health by changing health-promoting behaviors such as diet, exercise and stress management. This can be particularly important in communities where there is a strong sense of collective responsibility for the health of individuals and of the community as a whole. The health determinants concept has been developed to help in this process by providing a framework for understanding the wide range of factors that influence the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. It is a useful tool in the development of public policy and in the design of interventions to support people’s healthy lifestyle choices.