Health
Health is the crown on the rich man's head that only the poor
man can see.
16th century author unknown
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
World Health Organization, 1947
[Health is a] quality of life that is a function of:
1. Social Health - ability to interact well with people and the
environment. Having satisfying interpersonall relationships.
2. Mental Health - ability to learn; one's intellectual capabilities
3. Emotional Health - ability to control emotions so that one
feels comfortable expressing them when appropriate and does express them
when appropriately. Ability to suppress emotions whenit is appropriate
to do so.
4. Spiritual Health - Belief in some unifiying force. For
some people that will be nature, for others it will be scientific laws,
and for others it will be a god-like force.
5. Physical Health - ability to perform daily tasks without undue
fatigue; biological integrity of the individual."
Dintiman and Greenberg, 1992
The dimensions of health identified in this definition
are integrated into the Total Person Concept discussed in class.
Health Education
Health Education . . . may be defined as the process of providing
learning experiences which favorably influence understandings, attitudes
and conduct in regard to individual and community health.
NEA and MEA, Joint Committee on Health Problems in Education.
Health Education: A Guide for Teachers and a Text for Teacher
Education. Washington, DC, 1961.
Health Education is a process which affects changes in the health
practices of people and in the knowledge and attitudes to such changes.
Education is an internal process of the individual concerned . . . Education
thus places responsibility on the individual and is essentially different
from a compliance approach. It involves motivation, communication,
and decision-making.
Professional Preparation in Health Education in Schools
of Public Health. A Report for the 1965 Annual Meeting of the Association
of Schools, Health Education Monographs 21.
[Health Education is the] process that bridges the gap between
health information and health practices. Health education motivates
the person to take the information and do something with it-- to keep himself
healthier by avoiding actions that are harmful and forming habits that
are beneficial.
The Report of the President's Committe on Health Education.
New York, 801 Second Ave. 1973.
Health Education is any combination of learning experiences designed
to facilitate voluntary adaptations of behavior conducive to health.
Green, Kreuter, Deeds, and Partridge, Health Education
Planning: A Diagnostic Approach. Palo Alto, Mayfield Publishing,
1980.
Health Promotion
Health Promotion is any combination of educational, organizational,
economic, and behavioral supports for behavior conducive to health.
Green and Johnson. "Health Education and Health
Promotion," Chapter 33 in Handbook of Health, Health care, and the Health
Professions, E Mechanic (ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Health Promotion is the science and art of helping people change
their lifestyle to move toward an optimal state of health. Optimal
health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual
and intellectual health. Lifestyle change can best be facilitated
through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior,
and create environments that support good health practices. Of the
three, supportive environments will probably have the greatest impact in
producing lasting changes.
Micheal O'Donnell, American Journal of Health Promotion,
Summer 1986.
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention is the aggregate of all
purposeful activities designed to improve personal and public health through
a combination of strategies, including the competent implementation of
behavior change strategies, health education, health protection measures,
risk factor detection, health enhancement and health maintenance.
The Health Education Field is that multi-disciplinary practice
which is concerned with designing, implementing, and evaluating educational
programs that enable individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities
to play active roles in achieving, protecting and sustaining health.
The Health Education Process is that continuum of learning which
enables people, as individuals and as members of social structures, to
voluntarily make decisions, modify behaviors, and change social conditions
in ways which are health-enhancing.
A Health Educator is a practitioner who is professionally prepared
in the field of health education, who demonstrates competence in both theory
and practice, and who accepts responsibility to advance the aims of the
health education profession.
Joint Committee on Health Terminology. "Report
of the Joint Committee on Health Education Terminology." Journal
of Health Education 22 (2):97-108.