health

Extent of continuing physical, emotional, mental, and social ability to cope with one's environment. Good health is harder to define than bad health (which can be equated with presence of disease) because it must convey a more positive concept than mere absence of disease, and there is a variable area between health and disease. A person may be in good physical condition but have a cold or be mentally ill. Someone may appear healthy but have a serious condition (e.g., cancer) that is detectable only by physical examination or diagnostic tests or not even by these.

health

1. the state of being bodily and mentally vigorous and free from disease

2. the general condition of body and mind

health [helth]

(medicine)

A state of dynamic equilibrium between an organism and its environment in which all functions of mind and body are normal.

Health

agate

symbolizes health; supposed to relieve snake and scorpion bites. [Class. and Medieval Legend: Leach, 27]

Asclepius’ cup

symbolizes well-being. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 397]

Carna

goddess of physical fitness. [Rom. Myth.: Leach, 192]

Damia

goddess of health. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 409]

Hygeia

goddess of health; daughter and personification of Asclepius. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 123]

Hygeia’s cup

symbol of fertility and fitness. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 396–397]

Health

the natural state of the body, characterized by its equilibrium with the environment and by the absence of any pathological changes.

Human health is determined by a complex of biological (inherited and acquired) and social factors; the latter have such great significance in the maintenance of a state of health and in the origin and development of disease, that the preamble to the code of the World Health Organization reads: “Health is a state of complete physical, spiritual, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of diseases and physical defects.” However, such a broad sociological definition of health is somewhat debatable, since the full social development of man does not always coincide with his biological state. In general, the concept of health is somewhat conditional and is objectively established according to the totality of anthropometric, clinical, physiological, and biochemical indexes, which are determined while sex and age factors as well as climatic and geographic conditions are taken into account.

Health must be characterized not only qualitatively but also quantitatively, because there is the concept of the degree of health, which is determined by the breadth of the adaptive possibilities of the body. Although health is essentially a state contrary to that of disease, it is connected with disease by various transitional states, and there may not be distinct boundaries between the two states. A state of health does not exclude the presence in the body of a not-yet-manifested pathogenic principle or of subjective fluctuations in a person’s feeling of well-being. In connection with these features, there has arisen the concept of the “practically healthy person,” in whom pathological changes observed in the body do not affect the subjective state of being and are not reflected in the person’s efficiency. At the same time, the absence of manifest disturbances of health does not indicate the absence of a pathological state, since overstrain of the protective-adaptive mechanisms, while not disrupting health, may lead to the development of disease under the action of strong stimuli on the body.

Factors that determine the health of a population are the amount of real wages, the length of the working day, the degree of intensity and conditions of work, the presence of occupational hazards, nutrition, the housing conditions, the life-style, the state of public health, and the sanitary condition of the country. There is practically no well-defined criterion for judging the state of health of the inhabitants of any country; even such a complex index as the average longevity, taken alone without consideration of complex social and biological research, is still insufficient for evaluation of the health of a population. The scientific organization of health protection for individual persons and groups of people must be based on increasing the defensive properties of the body and on creating conditions that prevent the possibility of human contact with various pathogenic stimuli or reduce their effect on the body.

Soviet public health services strive in every possible way to develop, preserve, and strengthen human health. This is possible because of the prophylactic character of Soviet medicine; free, available, and qualified treatment; the creation of a broad network of institutions for treatment and prophylaxis, sanatoriums, and rest homes; and massive organization of physical culture and sports. The Basic Principles of Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics on Public Health, adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on Dec. 19, 1969, reads: “The protection of the people’s health is one of the most important tasks of the Soviet government… . Protection of the health of the population is the obligation of all government organs and community organizations.”

V. A. FROLOV

Mentioned in	?		References in periodicals archive	?		Encyclopedia browser	?		Full browser	?
No references found			The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is inadequate for protecting privacy and also stymies research, as access to patient health information is vital for making medical advances, according to a new report from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM). A call to revamp HIPAA by Chuck Miller / SC Magazine Porfirio Hernandez Ramirez, deputy director of research at Havana's Institute of Immunology and Hematology, said that with the use of this treatment, in most cases surgery was not needed, and that patient health improved. Stem-cell use successful in 511 patients by CubaNews The level of health care system episode of care integration, care coordination, and patient and provider decision support that is consistently available during the episode of care is the greatest determinant of whether care will be optimized for each patient health care encounter. Creating a 21st century Medicaid health care coverage system by Rogers, Anthony / Policy & Practice			pathogenic Pathogenicity pathogenicity island pathognomonic pathologic anatomy pathological Pathological Anatomy pathological gambling pathologist Pathology pathophobia Pathophysiology Pathopsychology pathotoxin pathovar Pathros pathspec pathway pathwise-connected set PATHWORKS Patiala Patiala and East Punjab States Union patience patient Patient Care patient health Patientia patin Patina patination Patinir, Joachim Patinir, Joachim de Patiño, Simón Ituri Patio patio process Patkanian, Rafael Patkanov, Kerope Patkanov, Kerope Petrovich Patkhor Peak Patkul, Johann Reinhold von patland Patmore Patmore, Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmos Pátmos Patna Patoka Lake Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge Patolichev, Nikolai Patolichev, Nikolai Semenovich Patom Highland			Patient Environment Action Group Patient Environment Action Team Patient Episode Database for Wales Patient Evacuation And Mortality Report patient evacuation contingency kit Patient Evacuation Coordination Cell Patient Evaluation & Conferencing System Patient Evaluation and Management System Patient Expectations and Satisfaction with Prenatal Care Patient Experience and Public Involvement Patient Experience Design Patient Experience Evaluation Report System Patient Family Educational Advisory Committee Patient Financial Assistance Program Patient Financial Counselor Patient Financial Services Patient Financial Services System Patient Focus Public Involvement Patient Focused Care Association Patient Generator Patient Global Assessment of Response to Therapy Patient Global Impression of Change Patient Griselda Patient Headache Care Education System patient health Patient Health Education Coordinator Patient Health Education Materials Patient Health Information Patient Health Questionnaire Patient Health Records Patient History Patient History Patient History and Data Base Patient Hygiene Performance Index Patient Identifiable Information patient identification patient identification patient identification patient identification Patient Identification Code Patient Identifier Patient Identifier Cross-Referencing Patient in Pain patient informatics Patient Information Advisory Group Patient information leaflet Patient Information Publications Patient Information Sheet Patient Informed Consent Patient Instruction Generator Patient Intensity for Nursing: Ambulatory Care patient interview Patient Judgment of Hospital Quality

Health (redirected from patient health)

health

Health
(redirected from patient health)