Definition of Health & Concepts of Health.

Definition of Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) provided a broader
definition of health in 1948:

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Concepts of Health
The concept of health is multidimensional and has evolved over time.
Traditionally, health was viewed primarily as the absence of disease, but modern definitions emphasize a more holistic understanding, incorporating physical, mental, and social well-being.
1. Biomedical Concept
Traditional concept.
Traditionally, health has been viewed as an ‘absence of
disease’ / ‘free from disease’.
if some one was free from disease, then the person was considered healthy.
This concept is based on the “Germ Theory of the disease.”
2. Ecological Concept
Deficiencies in the biomedical concept gave rise to other concepts.
Ecologists viewed,
Health as ‘a dynamic equilibrium’ between man and his environment and Disease is ‘a maladjustment’ of the human
organism to environment.
3. Psycho-social Concept
Advances in social sciences, showed that health is not only a biomedical phenomenon, but one which is influenced by social, psychological, cultural, economic and political factors of the
people concerned.
• Thus health is both ‘a biomedical and social phenomenon’.
4. Holistic Concept
Health is the synthesis / combination of all the above 3 concepts, i.e. Biomedical, ecological and social concept.
Holistic concept recognizes the strength of social, economic, political and environmental influences on health and described as ‘multidimensional process’ involving the wellbeing of the person as a whole.