Health

From Wikiversity

Health might well be described as being 'in the eye of the beholder'. An attempt at a global definition was made by the World Health Organisation (1948) : "Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The need for the latter part of this definition stems from the recognition that, over the last couple of centuries in 'Western-led' societies, discussion about health has been dominated by medically-based professionals (seeing health in terms of whether a diagnosed condition is present, in a body or mind seen distinctly from the rest of people's lives). Sociologists identify how different social groups 'construct' their own understandings of health, and how medics are one social group (albeit a powerful one) amongst many. Other social groups and cultures can also perceive health as related to, eg. individual coping, social support, ecologism, spirituality etc. --Different kinds of definitions are useful in various contexts e.g. functional health is a good approach to evaluate the health of eldery people or work ability -- The problem raised by this is : 'If we have no simple definition of health, how can we know if we are improving it?". Health promotion specialists respond to this by a) accepting people's multiple perceptions of health, often combined in a 'holistic' way, and b) seeking to enable local people to take greater control over their health, as the experts in their own lives, alongside the generalised expertises of the various health professionals. (initial entry by Aldo Mussi, University of Central England, Birmingham, Britain.)

--Perceived health has epidemiologically shown to be a powerful predictor for future such as death. --

Contents 1 Practicing health 1.1 Germs 1.2 Sexual health 2 Measuring health 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Practicing health

There are many ways to practice health. It depends on what you want to be healthy about.

[edit] Germs

Germs are everywhere. Some are harmless, some are harmful, and some are even helpful. Here are 5 ways to protect yourself from germs. (The bad kind.)

1. Wash Your Hands
2. Bathe Often
3. Cover Your Mouth When You Cough or Sneeze
4. Develop an Awareness of Germs, not a Fear
5. Avoid Very Sick People

[edit] Sexual health

When You're Having Intercourse, Practice These 5 Rules:

1. No Oral
2. Wear a Condom
3. Wash Sheets
4. Dispose of Semen and Condoms Properly
5. Be Prepared to be a Parent

[edit] Measuring health

1. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28; Goldberg & Hillier, 1979)

[edit] See also

• School:Medicine
• Topic:Health psychology
• Topic:Medical psychology
• Topic:Public health
• Epidemiology
• Hand Washing
• Secondhand Smoke

[edit] References

1. Goldberg, D., & Hillier, V. F. (1979). A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychological Medicine, 9, 139-145.