Finding great health articles takes time and effort. They have to be accurate and interesting enough to hold the attention of readers. They must also be targeted at the right audience – general readers, scientists, or other groups with a particular interest in health. And they have to be written in a format that works best for the target audience.
The first step in preparing an article on health is to come up with a great idea. This may be done by watching the world around you for issues that would make for interesting stories – whether they are published studies, news reports, social media comments, or conversations at scientific meetings. Or it may be done by watching for trends that emerge – such as the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations or drop in cancer-related deaths.
Depending on what is deemed important in the culture of an individual, there are several ways that one could define “health”. One way is to simply say that it is the absence of disease or impairment. This definition has advantages in that it makes it easy to measure and offers a clear link between the medical system and the measured outcome. However, it does not take into account the fact that some people will escape this definition because of advances in medicine. These advances allow doctors to declare someone healthy who might have been diagnosed as diseased with earlier methods.
Another definition is that health is a state of well-being that is characterized by the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. This definition has the advantage of being broader than the previous one and includes a reference to the importance of social well-being.
A third way that a person could define “health” is to consider it to be an active adaptation to the stressors of life, characterized by resilience and sense of coherence. This definition allows for the consideration of disability in the context of health and fosters a new set of questions.
All of these different views of health are important because they help us to understand the complexity of the issue and how it might be addressed. Each definition has implications for health care delivery, research, and policy. By highlighting the role of the determinants of health, these new views call for cross-sectorial assumptions about responsibilities and encourage consideration of what constitutes healthy communities. It is clear that the origins of health are far more complex than any single organization, sector, or group might assume. This new approach to health is a crucial step towards achieving better, more sustainable, and equitable health. A healthy workforce can be more productive, students are more likely to learn, and communities can achieve societal goals more readily when their members are healthy. The challenge is to work together to improve the health of our populations. Health is not just a matter of science; it is a matter of values, and changing those values is a task that cannot be left to the medical sector alone.