scholarly journals Gesondheid: 'n realistiese perspektief

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Elna Gross ◽  
Anna Nolte ◽  
Dawie Smith

This article presents a realistic perspective on the definition of health. Debates in tins article include amongst others the World Health Organization's definition on health and the'7 Nursing for the Whole Person " health definition." Opsomming Die term gesondheid was nog altyd moeilik om te definieer, omdat daar soveel uiteenlopende beskouiings is oor wat die begrip gesondheid behels. *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.

Author(s):  
Susan B. Rifkin

In 1978, at an international conference in Kazakhstan, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund put forward a policy proposal entitled “Primary Health Care” (PHC). Adopted by all the World Health Organization member states, the proposal catalyzed ideas and experiences by which governments and people began to change their views about how good health was obtained and sustained. The Declaration of Alma-Ata (as it is known, after the city in which the conference was held) committed member states to take action to achieve the WHO definition of health as “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Arguing that good health was not merely the result of biomedical advances, health-services provision, and professional care, the declaration stated that health was a human right, that the inequality of health status among the world’s populations was unacceptable, and that people had a right and duty to become involved in the planning and implementation of their own healthcare. It proposed that this policy be supported through collaboration with other government sectors to ensure that health was recognized as a key to development planning. Under the banner call “Health for All by the Year 2000,” WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund set out to turn their vision for improving health into practice. They confronted a number of critical challenges. These included defining PHC and translating PHC into practice, developing frameworks to translate equity into action, experiencing both the potential and the limitations of community participation in helping to achieve the WHO definition of health, and seeking the necessary financing to support the transformation of health systems. These challenges were taken up by global, national, and nongovernmental organization programs in efforts to balance the PHC vision with the realities of health-service delivery. The implementation of these programs had varying degrees of success and failure. In the future, PHC will need to address to critical concerns, the first of which is how to address the pressing health issues of the early 21st century, including climate change, control of noncommunicable diseases, global health emergencies, and the cost and effectiveness of humanitarian aid in the light of increasing violent disturbances and issues around global governance. The second is how PHC will influence policies emerging from the increasing understanding that health interventions should be implemented in the context of complexity rather than as linear, predictable solutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (131) ◽  
pp. 175-192
Author(s):  
Malene Breunig

The research-based Danish therapy garden Nacadia, which opened in 2011, can be viewed as a holistically oriented realization of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) broad definition of health from 1948: health is not just the absence of disease, but a state of both physical, mental and social well-being in which individuals may develop their abilities, deal with everyday challenges and stress, as well as socialize with other people. Nacadia’s raison d’être and relevance are indisputable. But the questions this article addresses are what perception of nature the therapy forest garden promotes and what social diagnosis it springs from and reproduces. Nacadia’s interdisciplinary research team provides no explanation, but these questions inform my analysis. Based on Nacadia’s concept manual and the therapy garden itself, as well as some literary accounts of engaging with nature, I develop two answers: First, that the researchers behind Nacadia operate with both a discourse and a physical-aesthetic presentation of nature as a peaceful and accessible place for both self-immersion and connection with ‘something greater’. Secondly, the implementation of such a sanctuary encourages romantically tinted modes of experience which certainly seem invigorating but may also evoke an element of alienation for people in a modern society.


1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (284) ◽  
pp. 524-532
Author(s):  
Bruce Dick

“Health for All by the Year 2000” has been a major goal, an important rallying cry for individuals and organizations around the world concerned about improving the physical, mental and social well-being of vulnerable people. Of course it has been a somewhat idealistic goal, as has the World Health Organization's definition of health. However, it has served a useful function, both in terms of what it says positively about our vision for the future and also by reminding us, implicitly if not explicitly, that for many hundreds of millions of people the reality is still very far from the dream.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-07
Author(s):  
Vicente A ◽  
Fernando C ◽  
Almada F

Today we begin to have the knowledge that allows us to face man in a dynamic and dialectic perspective, as we have long desired (see, for example, the definition of health by the World Health Organization, 1948, as a state of equilibrium – therefore dynamic). However, an intention is not enough. We have to better understand the phenomena, of course. And differently. There is a need for a rupture in strategies, methodologies, instruments (conceptual and material), an adequate conception and with the appropriate degrees of freedom. This work intends to be as a contribution to this rupture (see Thomas Kuhn). Not only in health, but in general, because man is always, (as a phenomenon, as a sign or as the observer), a fundamental part of our visions. In this article we propose two conceptual tools: ARAT (aggression / reaction / adaptation / transformation - as a factor of transformation) and Mental Schemes (as a factor of stability - which, therefore, goes beyond a centralization in the nervous system). Tools that allow us to access causalities (not only in their consequences, which are the facts, events, where we often focus our attention), because they guide and justify (substantiate the functionality) the action of man in every field (in education, health, sport, leisure, politics, economics, tourism, etc.) showing how and why man works.


2022 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Negm ◽  
Adrian Salopek ◽  
Mashal Zaide ◽  
Victoria J. Meng ◽  
Carlos Prada ◽  
...  

Purpose: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 has imposed a significant burden on health care systems, economies, and social systems in many countries around the world. The provision of rehabilitation services for persons with active COVID-19 infection poses challenges to maintaining a safe environment for patients and treating providers.Materials and Methods: Established frameworks were used to guide the scoping review methodology. Medline, Embase, Pubmed, CINAHL databases from inception to August 1, 2020, and prominent rehabilitation organizations’ websites were searched.Study Selection: We included articles and reports if they were focused on rehabilitation related recommendations for COVID-19 patients, treating providers, or the general population.Data Extraction: Pairs of team members used a pre-tested data abstraction form to extract data from included full-text articles. The strength and the quality of the extracted recommendations were evaluated by two reviewers using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.Results: We retrieved 6,468 citations, of which 2,086 were eligible for review, after duplicates were removed. We excluded 1,980 citations based on title and abstract screening. Of the screened full-text articles, we included all 106 studies. A summary of recommendations is presented. We assessed the overall evidence to be strong and of fair quality.Conclusion: The rehabilitation setting, and processes, logistics, and patient and healthcare provider precaution recommendations identified aim to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection and ensure adequate and safe rehabilitation services, whether face-to-face or through teleservices. The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing. Further updates will be needed over time in order to incorporate emerging best evidence into rehabilitation guidelines.


2016 ◽  
Vol 04 (02) ◽  
pp. 067-070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranabir Salam

AbstractNoncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 68% of all deaths in 2012. Eighty-two percent of these “premature” deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Most of the NCD deaths are caused by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health, road traffic accidents, and violence. The World Health Organization, several governments, and nongovernmental organizations have taken up numerous programs to curb the menace of NCDs. However, the present programs do not include some common chronic medical conditions which also lead to considerable morbidity and mortality. The present review highlights three important chronic disorders: chronic kidney disease (CKD), liver disease (cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver), and thyroid diseases. CKD is an internationally recognized public health problem affecting 5–10% of the world population. CKD resulted in 956,000 deaths in 2013 and proposes them to be included in the world wide accepted definition of NCD. Cirrhosis and chronic liver disease were the tenth leading cause of death for men and the twelfth for women in the United States in 2001. Moreover, 4–10% of the global population have thyroid dysfunction. This mini-review proposes to expand the definition of NCD to include these three major illnesses.


1989 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cohen

This article examines the meaning of appropriate technology in the World Health Organization's comprehensive definition of primary care. The author concludes that broad-ranging aspects of health maintenance, such as public health, personal lifestyles, and scientific research, as well as traditional diagnostic and therapeutic practices, need to be subjected to clear and careful scrutiny. It is vital that the results of these technology assessment studies be disseminated as widely as possible to both health care professionals and the public.


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