What is health?

Question 1

World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health:

Answer 1

A state of complete mental, social and physical well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Question 2

Factors that influence lay beliefs about health:

Answer 2

• Age = older people concentrate on functional ability, younger people tend to speak of health in terms of physical strength and fitness
• Social class = people living in difficult economic and social circumstances regard health as functional (ability to be productive, take care of others), whereas people of higher social class or education have a more multidimensional view
• Gender = men and women appear to think about health differently (women may find the concept of health more interesting, women include a social aspect of health)
• Culture = different perceptions of illness/disease, differences in concordance with treatment

Question 3

2 different views of normality:

Answer 3

• STATISTICAL = derives from the normal distribution; describes the ‘shape’ of a population as being in a bell curve - high in the middle and gradually sloping down to the left and right; data that follows such a distribution are said to possess normality
• CULTURAL = using a cultural approach, what is defined as normal will depend on expectations and standards of the society, and thus on political and economic as well as social factors; criteria may differ between societies, over time within the same society, and between groups within the same society

Question 4

Doctor vs Patient view on normality

Answer 4

• Doctors = comfortable with discussing statistical normality (peak flow, blood test results)
• Patients = important to them to discuss cultural normality - weight, food, alcohol
• Establish meaning of health and normality for your patient, tailor your advice for patient to make informed decision, and improve compliance and relationship