Concept of Health & Disease

 CONCEPT OF HEALTH & DISEASE

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What is Health?

According to the WHO health is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely in the absence of disease and infirmity".

Introduction to the concept of health

Health is a common thing in all cultures of the world and all communities have their own concepts of the health, as a part of their culture. Many communities have tried to define the health concept in different ways but there are mainly four concepts of health:-

1) Biomedical Concept of Health

Statement:- A person is said to be health only if not a single disease is present in his/her body.

Perception:- Human body is a machine, disease is a consequence that cause the breakdown of the machine and the doctor is the one who repairs the machine by the help of medicine.

Limitation:- It minimizes the role of environmental, social, psychological and cultural determinants of health.

2) Ecological Concept of Health

Statement:- A person is said to be healthy if he/she has a perfect equilibrium with the environment and disease is a failure of the human to adjust with the environment.

Perception:- Health indicates the relative absence of pain and discomfort and a continuous adaptation to the environment which ensures the optimal function.

Limitation:- Can we increase the life expectancy only by the human adaptation to the natural environment? Even in the absence of healthcare delivery services.

3) Psychosocial Concept of Health

Statement:- A person is said to be healthy if he/she is influenced by social, psychological, cultural, economic and political factor.

Perception:- A healthy human would be great in terms of all psychosocial, cultural and economical factors.

Limitation:- Health is also a biological phenomenon.

4) Holistic Concept of Health

Statement:- A person is said to be healthy if he/she has a perfect balance of biological, environmental and psychosocial factors.

Perception:- A health human must have to be great in terms of all factors such as education, fitness, wealth, public relations etc.

Limitation:- Unavailability of resources to meet the holistic concept of health.

  

CONCEPT OF DISEASE

What is a Disease?

Disease is "a abnormal condition that negatively affects the working of a human body organs and associated with specific signs & symptoms".

Introduction to the concept of Disease

WHO has defined the health but not defines the disease because it has many shades which lies from inapparent cases to the severe ones and majorly there are four concepts of disease that define the causation of disease:-

1) Germ Theory

Statement:- Disease is caused by the germs (microbes)

Perception:- The germs enters into the human body, lead to imbalance in the functioning of  human body organs and thus creates a condition known as disease.

Limitation:- Disease can be caused by an agent but the causing agent also needs an environment for its growth.

Example:- Malaria by Plasmodium falciparum.

2) Epidemiological triad:- 

Statement:- Disease is caused by a specific agent in a specific environment.

Perception:- The causing agent enters into the human body (host) and if the agent gets a specific environment then it leads to a condition called disease.

Limitation:- It is only applicable for the infectious diseases.

Example:- Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis but the symptoms appears when immunity of the host is low. 

3) Multifactorial Causation:- 

Statement:- Disease is not only caused by an agent but other factors can also lead to a disease.

Perception:- A number of multiple factors like fat intake, smoking, lack of exercise and many more can alter the functioning of our body organs and lead to a condition called disease. 

Limitation:- Internal factors just like genetical, not considered in this concept.

Example:- Anxiety because of social, mental and some biological factors.

4) Web of Causation:-

Statement:- A disease is the outcome of  interaction of multiple factors.

Perception:- It considers all the predisposing factors and their complex interrelationship with each other that leads to a certain condition called disease and also imply that the disease can be controlled by removing or breaking the chain of causes.

Limitation:- Only applicable for chronic diseases.

Example:- Myocardial Infarction by a series of factors shown in the below image.

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