The term “HEalth” was first used in reference to the Greek word “HEORTHUS”. According to the World Health Organization, “health, in its broad sense, is a state of full physical, mental and emotional well-being and not simply the absence of illness and disease.” Various definitions have also been used over the years for various purposes. One common definition is as the ability to enjoy a good health and well-being. This also includes emotional well-being.
It has been postulated that “heath” is a composite concept involving physical well-being, emotional well-being, and ecological well-being. In this framework, health is equivalent to the absence of illness or disease, while quality of life is equivalent to the presence of illness or disease. It is further believed that emotional well-being is important for optimal health and that individuals who are healthy have higher levels of emotional well-being than those who are unhealthy. The absence of both illness and disease thus plays a vital role in determining the quality of life. Health and well-being therefore go hand in hand.
HEALTH is not a static object but rather a continuously evolving concept which depends on the observations, knowledge, experience and policies of all societies and civilizations around the world. For a society to have a reasonable view of the definition of “healthy”, it must be able to formulate and evaluate a set of standards by which different cultures can measure the health of individuals in their surroundings. There are five dimensions that can be considered in order to evaluate health: physical, mental, social, economic, and environmental factors. Some people believe that there are other dimensions of the healthy life style but these concepts still need to be developed.
The concepts of “heal the body” and “kill the bacteria” are not far from one another. There are many diseases that result from sicknesses inside the body and these can be eliminated or treated if the health system is good enough. In the case of individuals, the elimination of “infection” is also necessary in order to avoid incurring illnesses. This kind of healing is often called prevention. There are many people who are under the impression that prevention is only possible after infection has taken place.
The term “HEAL the body” is based on the fact that many diseases that do not affect the major organs of the body can be eliminated by proper medication. This is one of the ways by which we can achieve better health policy. There are some groups who believe that life expectancy can be increased especially by increasing the consumption of health products such as vitamins and nutrients. This has not been scientifically proven and is, therefore, disputed.
A healthy economy can only be maintained when the population groups living in the country are healthy. In order to maintain good health, the government must introduce social determinants which allow some people to get better healthcare while others continue to suffer from diseases and their consequences. Those who are unable to participate in the health system will become uninsured and this will cause an increase in the costs to the government as a whole and it will affect the financing of medical treatments and programs. Health programs should be a right of every citizen so that all can be insured and everybody enjoys the same social determinants that make each person eligible for different programs.
