健康是指生物的功能性和代谢效率的水平。对人类而言,健康是指个人或群体面临生理、心理或社会的挑战时,适应及自我管理的能力1。世界卫生组织于1948年定义健康广义来说是:“健康不仅为疾病或虚弱之消除,而是体格,精神与社会之完全健康状态。”2,3此定义相当有争议,特别在其实务上不易评估,以及用到“完全”一词所引发的相关问题4,5。后来也有组织提出新的定义,有些定义将健康及个人的满足相关连6,7。例如国际健康功能与身心障碍分类系统(ICF)及国际疾病与相关健康问题统计分类(ICD)等国际分类系统,也常用来定义及衡量健康的组成。
有关预防及治疗人类健康问题及促进人类健康的系统性活动会由医疗保健服务机构进行,而有关动物的类似议题则会由兽医进行。“健康”一词也常用在许多非生物,且对人类有影响的物体,例如健康社群、健康城市或是健康环境等。已知有许多因素会影响个人健康的状态,例如背景、生活形态、经济条件、社会条件及灵性,这些称为“健康决定因素”(determinants of health)。研究已发现过大的压力会影响健康8。
(摘自中文维基百科)
- 1. Huber M, Knottnerus JA, Green, L., van der Horst H, Jadad AR, Kromhout D, Smid H. BMJ 2011; 343 (d4163) http://savenhshomeopathy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Huber-Definition...
- 2. World Health Organization. 1946. WHO definition of Health, Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.
- 3. World Health Organization. 2006. Constitution of the World Health Organization - Basic Documents, Forty-fifth edition, Supplement, October 2006.
- 4. Callahan D. The WHO definition of 'health'. The Hastings Center Studies. 1973, 1 (3): 77–87. JSTOR 3527467. doi:10.2307/3527467
- 5. Taylor S, Marandi A. How should health be defined?. BMJ. 2008, 337: a290. PMID 18614520. doi:10.1136/bmj.a290
- 6. Bellieni CV, Buonocore G. Pleasing desires or pleasing wishes? A new approach to pain definition. Ethics Med. 2009, 25 (1).
- 7. Sport, Disability and an Original Definition of Health. Zenit.org (February 27, 2013).
- 8. BBC News – How stressed are you?. Bbc.co.uk. 2013-11-06 [2014-03-01].