The word health has always been an individualistic one, meaning a person’s quality of life. Health, according to the World Health Organization, is “an overall condition of total physical, emotional and social well being and not just the absence of sickness and disease.” There are many definitions used for health by different individuals. The dictionary definition is “health” “being well.” When it comes to improving health, however, it is important to remember that being well requires more than being well in a given area.
The definition above is used to inform the debate about how to improve the health system. The debate is primarily between those who believe that patients should be able to choose their health care providers and those who believe that patients should be completely responsible for the health of themselves and their families. Although some states have laws that require hospitals to provide patients with a choice in their health care system, there is very little else that these laws do to control what happens to patients. As compared to other areas such as guns, drugs and alcohol, health care costs are generally low, making it difficult for people to obtain health insurance.
For this reason, many individuals and families are turning toward self-managed health care plans. In this case, the individual or family is responsible for maintaining his or her own health and is responsible for making sure that his or her medical needs are met. This can often be quite challenging because everyone in a household may have different medical needs. This definition also makes it difficult for a family plan to be set up, since each member will have his or her own doctor and will visit them. For this reason, some insurance companies are offering direct-purchasing plans that let the consumer purchase only the health services that he or she needs.
Another definition of public health refers to the general condition of the nation as a whole, rather than focusing on its treatment or prevention mechanisms. This view is extremely broad and covers everything from life course nutrition to environmental and occupational hazards. It also includes the entire spectrum of risks to human health, which include everything from sudden death to sudden illness. Public health is considered to be the basis of all health services and prevention of diseases by regulating the levels of risk and exposure to disease. This definition has been the focus of much research over the years, and has resulted in a huge amount of knowledge on how to prevent and reduce common diseases and their consequences.
A relatively new definition of health policy is applied to those who are diagnosed with a chronic disease. For example, a person who suffers a heart attack does not fit this definition. Instead, he or she may be diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease or with diabetes. The problem arises because the term chronic disease implies existence for a period of time, whereas a cardiovascular disease can be brought on for a lifetime.
In addition, the definition applies both to individuals and to the entire population. For example, those who are diagnosed with cancer do not fit into the previous definition. Cancer is a disease that results from abnormal growth of an existing cell. However, cancer can be caused by genetic defects, excessive production of some hormones, exposure to hazardous substances, and even poor diet. Since some of these causes can cause death, the presence of the other ones imply the possibility of prevention, although it remains a challenge for researchers to understand how to effectively prevent some diseases from developing into more serious problems.