Health Issue Analysis

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Pages: 4

The definition of health, created by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1947, is still today, the most widely accepted and quoted definition. It states that "Health is - A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.". There are five different dimensions that directly relate to being a wholly healthy person and they are physical health, mental health, emotional health, social health and spiritual health. The definitions of each dimension are:
• Physical health - encompasses the efficient functioning of one's body and their ability to participate in everyday activities. The absence of disease signs is also a key factor in physical health.
• Mental health - involves the interrelation
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• Spiritual health - involves the need to establish life's purpose, feel connections with nature and/or follow religion.
Each of these dimensions are interrelated. This means when one dimension is impacted most likely another one will suffer. An example of the interrelation would be a person suffering a severe sporting injury, resulting in the loss of physical activity. They may suffer mentally at the thought of never playing sport again will affect self esteem levels, their physical health would be lost and not be able to cope with the change from mobility to limited/no mobility.
Health has both a relative and dynamic nature to it. The dynamic aspect refers to the fact that it is ever-changing. For example, one minute a person may be healthy but the next become diagnosed with a tumor. A relative perspective involves comparing an individual's state of health with that of another person or to another period of time. An example of this would be viewing your health in relation to yourself 10 years ago or comparing your health to a friend who trains at the gym 5 times a
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A protective health behaviour is where a person can put in place, one of many barriers to avoid risk behaviours such as when a person becomes involved in things that may have adverse affects on their development and/or wellbeing.
The "Ottawa Charter" is the name given to an international agreement which was signed at the first ever International Conference on Health Promotion. This conference was organised by the WHO and held in Ottawa, Canada during November 1986. The Ottawa Charter launched a series of actions among many governments and international organisations to promote better health. There are 5 main action areas identified in the Ottawa charter. They are:
1. Developing personal skills: This involves providing information, educating and enhancing the life skills of individuals. A key objective is to allow people to take control of their health and