Health Philosophy1
Health Philosophy1
Health Philosophy1
Philosophy of Health
Philosophy of Health
What does health mean to you?
Savannah Martin
Johnson C. Smith University
October 2nd, 2017
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If someone were to ask me what my definition of health is, I would tell them that my
personal definition of health is an overall well-being, including your physical, social, financial,
mental, and spiritual health. According to the World Health Organization (1948), Miettinen and
Flegel define health as, "a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity." Armer et al., (2002) define health as the ability to work, rather
characteristics that they see on a person. A person that appears to be overweight does not
mean that they are unhealthy. Health is very complex, and making sure your overall strength
and cognitive ability is stable is also a very important aspect in health. Health is an overall
evaluation of a persons' well-being. Health is not defined by an illness that one may have, but
merely depends on ones' physical and mental capabilities. There are many key determinants
that contribute to health as well as many global issues that affect us. Health also means to
improve.
Health is important to me because if I am not healthy then I cannot carry out my daily
tasks in life, nor can I express and teach the importance of health to those in my family and
environment, eat healthy and to stay physically active. Another obligation is to be spiritually
healthy, because managing stress and anxiety plays a major role when it comes to mental
health and I believe that being spiritually healthy can limit the amount of stress that I take on. A
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similar definition of the philosophy of symmetry defined by the Journal of Health, Physical, and
Recreational (206, p. 48), defines health as physical, emotional, spiritual, and social
components.
overall well-being and not just my physical health. I believe it is my duty to serve as an example
to my community and family members, by living a healthy life and promoting health as well. My
personal definition of a belief is an idea that someone may have obtained through their culture,
or upbringing, they may apply these beliefs to their everyday lives. Culture plays a huge role in
health, Sellers et al., states that culture is the foundation of the values, thoughts, and behaviors
Mental health is something we pay the least amount of attention to when we view our
overall health. As I write this philosophy, I had to stop to think about when a doctor had ever
asked me about my mental health and it occurred to me that it had gone unnoticed all of these
years. Mental health is not defined as crazy an evolving definition of mental health is referred
to as conditions that affect cognition, emotion, and behavior (i.e schizophrenia, depression,
autism) Mandersheid, 2009. With that being said, it is my belief that I should help promote
healthier lifestyle habits. An example of a healthier lifestyle habit can range from becoming
physically active to going to counseling to care for your mental health. Another example of
healthier lifestyle habits can be getting fresh air by taking walks and choosing water versus juice
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or soda, but it is my job to promote these healthy habits by first being example, hosting
Although I have these obligations, the community must also take part in promoting
health. My community should help keep the environment safe by cutting back on tobacco,
putting a stop to texting and driving, as well as seat-belt usage. These are only three examples
on how the community as a whole can make a change, and as the community's change, we can
Practical Application
is one of the major components of living a healthy life, and learning about health on a day to
day basis makes it easier to be influenced by healthy behaviors rather than non-healthy
behaviors. Troost et al., (2007) uses four characteristics to define healthy behaviors, having a
healthy weight, not smoking, consuming fruits and vegetables, and engaging in physical activity.
The concurrent presence of all 4 characteristics was defined as a healthy overall lifestyle. As
long as health education continues to be a priority to Health Education Specialists, every day we
Health is important because health not only determines things like life-expectancy, but
your current health is a huge factor when it comes to your future family. The health behaviors
that individuals practice now can either be beneficial or complicated. America is becoming
more and more health friendly and I think this is due to the utilization of Health Education
Specialists.
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References
Reed, Deborah B, MSPH,PhD., R.N., Rayens, M. K., PhD., Conley, C. K., M.S.N., Westneat, S.,
M.S., & Adkins, S. M., M.S. (2012). Farm elders define health as the ability to work.
Troost, J. P., B.S., Rafferty, A. P., PhD., Luo, Z., PhD., & Reeves, M. J., PhD. (2012). Temporal and
regional trends in the prevalence of healthy lifestyle characteristics: United states, 1994-
World Health Organization Preamble to the constitution of the World Health Organization as
adopted by the International Health Conference; New York. 19-22 June, 1946; 1946. signed
on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health
Soleymanian, A., Niknami, S., Hajizadeh, E., Shojaeizadeh, D., & Montazeri, A. (2014).
Development and validation of a health belief model based instrument for measuring