Health Studies, Early Briton and the Nhs
Health Studies - Part One.
The World Health Organisation defines health as, “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO 1948). This definition continues to be referred to in academic text books and commonly referred to by health professionals. However it could be argued that, a large proportion of any population are unlikely to feel completely healthy at any one time. An opposing definition states health is “Functioning effectively in many different environments, which we can only do if we come to accept our various aches and pains in less than perfect physical and mental condition” (Illich, 1976).
The above views could be categorised into Positive and Negative views of health, The WHO refer to those in which health is defined as something that is achieved or gained, this would be considered to be a positive view. A negative definition would be described as the absence of something. There are also two main ways of seeing health negatively; the first equates it with the absence of disease or bodily abnormality. The second is the absence of any illness. Therefore according to this people are healthy as long as they show no signs of bodily abnormalities. Maclntye (1986 ) definition could be considered as a negative view as it suggests that “abnormal” is unhealthy, implying that a person in a wheelchair is unhealthy, as is having HIV, or early signs of cancer. There are a variety of definitions that people measure as healthy and these perceptions have changed over time, but an open ended question cannot be measured.
Health was never really taken into consideration historically, as people generally only ever focused on treating illness and disease. Before the 1700’s popular belief of illness and disease would have been the presence of evil spirit or curse interned inside the patient. Trepanning was a method where a hole was drilled into the skull of the patient to let the evil spirits leave
The World Health Organisation defines health as, “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO 1948). This definition continues to be referred to in academic text books and commonly referred to by health professionals. However it could be argued that, a large proportion of any population are unlikely to feel completely healthy at any one time. An opposing definition states health is “Functioning effectively in many different environments, which we can only do if we come to accept our various aches and pains in less than perfect physical and mental condition” (Illich, 1976).
The above views could be categorised into Positive and Negative views of health, The WHO refer to those in which health is defined as something that is achieved or gained, this would be considered to be a positive view. A negative definition would be described as the absence of something. There are also two main ways of seeing health negatively; the first equates it with the absence of disease or bodily abnormality. The second is the absence of any illness. Therefore according to this people are healthy as long as they show no signs of bodily abnormalities. Maclntye (1986 ) definition could be considered as a negative view as it suggests that “abnormal” is unhealthy, implying that a person in a wheelchair is unhealthy, as is having HIV, or early signs of cancer. There are a variety of definitions that people measure as healthy and these perceptions have changed over time, but an open ended question cannot be measured.
Health was never really taken into consideration historically, as people generally only ever focused on treating illness and disease. Before the 1700’s popular belief of illness and disease would have been the presence of evil spirit or curse interned inside the patient. Trepanning was a method where a hole was drilled into the skull of the patient to let the evil spirits leave