health and illness ,an overview

2. Health : health is an ideal state of physical
and mental well being ,something to
strive for but never to attain .
Good health is a prerequisite of human
productive and developmental process.

3.  Illness : An illness is the response ,the
person has to disease .
 It is an abnormal process in which the
persons level of functioning is changed
compared with a previous level.

4.  In 1948 the world health organization (WHO)defines
health as,
“A state of complete physical,
mental, social, spiritual wellbeing
and not merely absence of disease or
infirmity”

5.  “ Dynamic state in which the
individual adapts to changes in
internal and external environments to
maintain a state of well being “
(Potter and Perry- 2014)

6.  “Health as a state of being well and
using every power the individual
possesses to the fullest extent”
(Nightingale ,1960/1969)

7.  Health is evolved over the centuries as a concept
from individual concern to world wide social goal
and encompasses the whole quality of life.
Changing concept of health till now are,
 Biomedical concept
 Ecological concept
 Psychosocial concept
 Holistic concept

9.  Traditionally, health has been viewed as an “absence
of disease”, and if one was free from disease, then the
person was considered healthy.
 The medical profession viewed the human body as a
machine, disease as a consequence of the breakdown
of the machine and one of the doctor’s task as repair
of the machine.

11.  Form ecological point of view; health is viewed as a
dynamic equilibrium between human being and
environment, and disease a maladjustment of the
human organism to environment.
 According to Dubos “Health implies the relative
absence of pain and discomfort and a continuous
adaptation and adjustment to the environment to
ensure optimal function.”
 The ecological concept raises two issues, viz.
imperfect man and imperfect environment.

12.  According to psychosocial concept ,
“health is not only biomedical
phenomenon, but is influenced by social,
psychological, cultural, economic and
political factors of the people concerned.”

14.  This concept is the synthesis all the above concepts.
 It recognizes the strength of social, economic ,
political and environmental influences on health.
 It described health as a unified or multidimensional
process involving the wellbeing of whole person in
context of his environment .

15.  Persons physical ,emotional, intellectual , social,
developmental or spiritual functioning is diminished.
 Illness is highly subjective ; only the individual person
can say he or she is ill.

16.  Primitive people thought “forces” or spirits caused
disease.

17.  Disease can be described as an alternation in body
functions resulting in reduction of capacities or a
shortening of the normal life span.
 The causation of the disease called Etiology.

18.  State of wellbeing.
“Well being is a subjective perception of vitality and
feeling well…..can be described objectively,
experienced, and measured …..and can be plotted on a
continuum”
(Hood and Leddy,2003)