by W. Diane Van Zwol

Created on: November 04, 2009

A Question of Health

Exploring the differences in the health of the rich and the poor, may lead to some interesting conclusions. Being rich does not guarantee health; being poor, does not guarantee health either.

By definition, what is health?

"At the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as being 'a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity'." (1)

Note that there are broader definitions of the word health, that include the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual realms.

The WHO definition of health has undergone a degree of transition, but interestingly, even in 1986, it did not address or include the spiritual realm of one's personhood.

The WHO, in the 'Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion', said that health is "a resource of everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities." (2)

Let us look at this statement for a moment. When health is a resource of everyday life, then non-health would imply the absence of a resource of everyday life. Health is not the objective of living; living is one of the objectives of health. Saying health is a positive concept suggests that non-health is a negative concept. Most would agree with that.

If health emphasizes social and personal resources, that might be regarded as an in-direct reference to the rich and the poor, as well as the basis for a distinction between the two.

Note that this is simply an exercise in the analysis of a definition.

How do the rich and the poor achieve health?

"Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, which, together is commonly referred to as the Health Triangle." (3)

Even this assumption about how overall health is achieved, omits the spiritual realm of one's personhood.

What does it mean to be rich?

What does it mean to be poor?

One must suggest that what it means to be rich or poor is relative to whatever aspect of life one is considering, at that particular moment in time. In other words, is it physical, mental, emotional or social well-being related?

Is being rich or poor not also related to the spiritual realm of humankind?

In our era, because of the rapid spread of the H1N1 pandemic, public health is becoming a growing concern for people, which includes both rich and poor.

Is there a definition of public

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