Topic 4.

The concepts of “health”

and “disease”.
Plan:

1 1. Health: concept,
levels and factors
determining it.
2
3
2. Social development
and types of health
1.Health: concept, levels and factors
determining it.
In modern literature, there are a large number of approaches to the definition
of the concept of "health". There are several theories in the definition of the
term "health": the historically established theory of "pathology" and the
developing new theory, the theory of health — sanology — valeology.
According to the theory of "pathology", a common approach in defining the
concept of "health" is that it is defined through the concept of "ill health"
(the presence of diseases, developmental defects, accidents, deaths) and the
term "health" are classified as follows:
• 1. Health is the absence of diseases.
• 2. Health and norm are identical concepts.
• 3. Health is a unity of morphological, psycho-emotional and socio-economic
components.
The medical and social interpretation of health is given in the
definition World Health Organization (WHO Constitution, 1948):
"Health - is a state of complete physical, spiritual and social well—
being, not just the absence of diseases and physical disabilities." The
World Health Organization has proclaimed the principle that "the
possession of the highest attainable standard health is one of the
fundamental rights of every human being." In addition, based on
WHO materials, the following definitions can be given:

• 1. "Public health (health of the nation) is a medical, demographic and social

category reflecting the physical, mental, and social well—being of people who
carry out their daily activities within certain social communities."
• 2. "Public health as a resource is a medical and social resource and the potential
of society that contributes to ensuring national security."
Currently, human health is considered in various aspects: biological,
social, economic, psychophysical, etc. Therefore, in practice, terms
reflecting only a certain aspect of human health have become widely
used: "mental health", "reproductive health", "general somatic
health", "environmental health", which narrows the understanding of
this term. In medical and social research, when assessing health, it is
customary to allocate levels of its study:

• – 1st level — individual health (individual health);

• – 2nd level — group health (health of small social or ethnic groups);
• – 3rd level - regional health (i.e. the health of people living in a specific
administrative-territorial unit: region, province, city, district, etc.);
• – 4th level — public health (the health of society, the population of the country,
the continent, the world, the population as a whole).
To assess individual health, indicators of physical development are used, as well as a
number of conditional indicators, among which the most common are: health
resources, health potential, health balance, etc.. As you know, the health of modern
humans is the result of the natural evolution of the species homo sapiens, which is
increasingly influenced by social factors. WHO documents repeatedly indicate that
human health is a social quality. In this regard, WHO recommends the following
indicators to assess public health:
• – deduction of the gross national product for health care;
• – accessibility of primary health care;
• – coverage of the population with safe water supply;
• – the level of immunization of the population (coverage of immunization of the population
against the six most common infectious diseases: diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles,
polio, tuberculosis);
• – the degree of service provided by qualified personnel to women during pregnancy and
childbirth;
• – the nutritional status of children;
• – the level of child mortality (including infant mortality);
• – the average (expected) life expectancy;
• – hygienic literacy of the population.
However, in medical and social research, it is customary to
use the following groups of indicators to quantify group,
regional and public health:

• 1. Demographic indicators.
• 2. Morbidity rates.
• 3. Disability indicators.
• 4. Indicators of physical development.
 Factors affecting the health of the population

• Public health is caused by the complex impact of factors that are

usually grouped into the following groups:
• 1. Socio-economic factors (income level, working conditions,
housing conditions, education, accessibility and quality of
medical care, etc.).
• 2. Biological factors (gender, age, heredity, etc.).
• 3. Climatic and environmental factors (temperature, humidity,
solar radiation level, environmental pollution, flora, fauna, etc.).
• 4. Psychological factors.
It should also be noted that the classifications of factors
affecting health at various levels are very diverse and
ambiguous and depend on the concept of evaluating the
health model. Despite the variety of approaches to health
assessment, the factors affecting group, regional and public
health, depending on the concept of health model
assessment, are conditionally divided into the following
groups (Table 1).

Table 1

Characterization of groups of factors depending on

the concept of health model assessment*
Model The Factor Group

The model Genetic + environment (natural and

social) + lifestyle + state of the health
of health conditionality (Russian service
scientists of the 70s of the twentieth
century)
The "Field of Health" model Biological + environment (natural and
social) + organization of medical care +
(M. Lalonde) individual behavior
The "Field of Health" model Genetic + natural + social environment
+ behavior (as a derivative of other
(R. G. Evans, health factors) + organization of
G. L. Stoddart) medical care
The model offered WHO Hereditary + natural environment +
social environment
(including the quality and accessibility
of medical care) + individual behavior
The model proposed Biological + living environment
(natural and a number of social),
by I. N. Gurvich (for urban conditions) industrial, social factors, individual
lifestyle
The model Personal factors (including biological
and genetic characteristics, behavior)
of health factors proposed + environment (natural factors and
by L. Loying housing) + social
The model offered Personal factors (behavior, biological)
+ environment (natural and social) +
www.Health.gld.au accessibility of medical care, public
policy
• * Source: 1. Evans, R. G. Producing Health,
Consuming Health Care / R. G. Evans,
• G. L. Stoddart // Social Science and Medicine.
1990 ; 31(12) : 1347-63.
• 2. Letunovskaya, S. V. On the problem of studying
risk factors / S. V. Letunovskaya,
• D. A. Shalaeva // Social prevention and health.
2006. No. 4. pp. 16-23.
 DISEASES

Pathology (from the Greek pathos – disease,

suffering, logos – science) is the science of the
nature and structural-functional patterns of the
occurrence, development and outcomes of
disease.
 DISEASES

Disease (from Latin. morbus) is a special type of

suffering caused by damage to the body and its
individual systems by various damaging factors,
characterized by a violation of the system of
regulation and adaptation and a decrease in
working capacity. (WHO)
 DISEASE -

• violation of the normal functioning of the body,

• arising from an inherited genetic defect and/or the effecto f a
damaging factor on the body,
• characterized by the development of a regular dynamic
complex of interrelated pathogenic and adaptive changes,
• as well as limiting the range of biological and social
capabilities of the individual.
 Classification of causal factors of the disease

•  physical (mechanical, thermal, cold,electrical, acoustic,

barometric, radiant)
•  chemical (inorganic, organic, simple,complex)
•  biological (viruses, plasmodia, rickettsias, bacteria,fungi,
plants, parasites and animals);
•  psychogenic
•  information
•  social (household, industrial)
•  natural (climatic, space, terrestrial)
 Disease criteria

• Patient's complaints
• The results of an objective study (the presence of damage,
changes in structure and functions, their regulation that go
beyond the biological norm)
• Reduced adaptability and ability to work(qualitatively
different character of vital activity in response to the action of
an irritant, extreme in nature, intensity or duration)
 The spread of morbidity in the modern
world
Adults
• Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
• Oncological
• Injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system

Children
• Neuroorthopathicdiseases
• Diseases of the organs of vision and gastrointestinal tract
• Bronchopulmonarydiseases
2. Social development and types of health

The main components of health

 The physical component:
It includes the level of growth and development
of organs and body systems, as well as the
current state of their functioning. The basis of
this process is morphological and functional
transformations and reserves that ensure
physical performance and an adequate human
response to external conditions.
 The psychological component:
– this is a state of the mental sphere, which is
determined by motivational and spiritual
components. Its basis isa state of emotional and
cognitive comfort that ensures mental
performance and adequate human behavior.
This condition is caused by both biological and
social needs. As well as the possibilities of
meeting these needs.
 The behavioral component:
– this is an external manifestation of the human
condition. It is expressed in the degree of
adequacy of behavior, the ability to
communicate. It is based on a life position and
interpersonal relationships. Which determine the
adequacy of interaction with the external
environment (biological and social) and the
ability to work effectively.
 The main signs of health
• Growth and development indicators are within
the normal range;
• The functional state of the body is within the
normal range;
• The body's reserve capabilities, resistance to
damaging factors
• Absence of any disease or developmental
defect; the level of moral-volitional and value-
motivational attitudes.
 Factors determining health
• Heredity
• Ecology
• healthcare
• lifestyle
 Primary prevention
a set of measures aimed at preventing the
occurrence of diseases by eliminating the causes
and correcting risk factors. Primary prevention
is aimed at preserving and improving the living
environment and forming a healthy lifestyle.
 Secondary prevention
a set of measures aimed at early detection and
prevention of exacerbations, complications and
chronization of diseases, disability, causing
maladaptation of patients in society.
 Tertiary prevention
- a set of measures aimed at preventing the
development of pathological processes leading to
temporary or permanent disability.
 Healthy lifestyle
• It is a lifestyle that promotes formation,
preservation, strengthening individual human
health.
• It includes favorable living conditions for a
person, the level of his culture and hygienic
skills that allow him to maintain, strengthen
health and maintain an optimal quality of life.
The basics of formation of healthy lifestyle

• cultivating positive emotions that promote mental well-being;

• optimal motor activity;
• rational nutrition;
• a rhythmic lifestyle that corresponds to the biorhythms of the
body 's vital activity;
• effective organization of labor activity;
• sexual culture ;
• giving up bad habits (alcoholism, drug addiction, tobacco
smoking, etc.);
• healthy aging is a natural process of fruitful longevity
 A sense of Coherence
1. Understanding the importance of healthy
lifestyle -formation of motivation
2. Self–organization - focusing not on illness, but
on improving health
3. Responsibility for your health
Thank you for attention