Health is the ability to live life with meaning and purpose, including the capacity to cope with change, uncertainty and adversity. A healthful lifestyle, which includes good nutrition, physical activity and mental health, is essential to the maintenance of healthy coping skills. It is also important to have supportive relationships. When these factors are in place, people can more easily navigate the challenges of life and make healthy choices (see The Science of Coping for a more detailed discussion).
It is important to note that both types of definitions of health do not take into account how individuals experience disease. Even when an individual has a particular illness, they may vary dramatically in their symptoms, level of distress and overall quality of life. Furthermore, the way an individual experiences a health issue may be influenced by their beliefs about the cause of that condition and their expectations for its treatment and prognosis.
In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) redefined health to include a person’s “full physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” While this is a more holistic approach to the concept of health, it is still an incomplete one as modern science continues to improve its understanding of diseases and their causes at molecular and cellular levels and discover new ways to slow down or cure them.
Moreover, there is evidence that the social conditions of a population have a direct impact on its health, regardless of whether those conditions are directly related to medical problems. The working environment, economic prosperity, educational achievement, crime rates and the safety of neighborhoods are just some of the many factors that influence health.
As we continue to move away from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital to shift our focus toward strategies that will address these key drivers of health. The determinants of health have been long neglected, and we must invest in research and policies to identify the most effective approaches for improving these critical issues.
The traditional targets of intervention have been specific diseases or behaviors, and categorical funding streams for both research and delivery of services encourage this approach. However, this narrow approach limits the impact of interventions and misses opportunities to target other areas that can have a major influence on health. The field model framework of the determinants of health encourages consideration of a wide range of potential targets for intervention.
For example, what if the goal of a program were to reduce unintended pregnancies, alcohol and drug abuse and violent behavior in teenagers by reducing their feelings of alienation and hopelessness? This would require a multidimensional approach aimed at community-level issues like job training and support groups, educational initiatives such as mentoring programs and after-school sports activities. In this way, the goal of becoming healthier can be achieved for every individual in their own unique way. By starting with small steps and building on them, we can all become more healthy.