Unit References
During the first week of this unit we discussed the concept of health and how to define it. The World Health Organization (WHO) has not updated their definition since 1948, yet there is clear consensus that it is in dire need of an update. How to update it, though, remains under debate. I have curated a collection of resources that speak to the criticisms of the current WHO definition of health and offer a variety of opinions and approaches on how to revise it. During the second week, we focused on the determinants of health, and how they can individually and collectively impact our health and wellbeing. I decided to take a closer look at the commercial determinants of health, as this is an area that has not been as thoroughly researched as many of the other areas - such as those that fall under the social determinants of health.
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Unit 3 Resources
For a full list of references, please visit my Zotero public group here. Below is a selection of pertinent resources for this unit, accompanied by a brief description.
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In this article, Huber discusses three main criticisms of the 1948 WHO definition of health and offers a new approach: using the concept of health as the 'ability to adapt and to self manage':
Huber, M. (2011). HEALTH: HOW SHOULD WE DEFINE IT? BMJ: British Medical Journal, 343(7817), 235–237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23051314
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Brook discusses the reasons why he believes that the WHO definition of health must be revised to include acceptance in tolerance. He argues that a person cannot possibly be 'healthy' if they are full of hatred or intolerance. "Hate is both deadly and contagious":
Brook, R. H. (2017). Should the Definition of Health Include a Measure of Tolerance? JAMA, 317(6), 585–586. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.14372
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In chapter 59 of this book, Jerome Bickenbach discusses the topic "WHO's Definition of Health: Philosophical Analysis". Bickenbach describes the problems with the 1948 WHO definition of health and goes on to offer reasons why opinions have varied over the years - namely, two distinct approaches to the defining of health:
Schramme, T., & Edwards, S. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine. Springer Netherlands. https://www.springer.com/us/book/9789401786874
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In this article, Leonardi identifies 6 criticisms of the 1948 WHO definition of health and goes on to describe the 9 features that he believes should be included in any new framework which tries to redefine 'health':
Leonardi, F. (2018). The Definition of Health: Towards New Perspectives. International Journal of Health Services, 48(4), 735–748. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731418782653
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Learn more about the Government of Canada's view on health, the determinants of health and the "Population Health Approach" adopted by the Public Health Agency of Canada:
Canada, P. H. A. of. (2008, September 12). What is health? [Organizational descriptions;policies] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-approach/what-is-health.html
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In this book, the authors explore the social determinants of health in Canada, and highlight how they are far more influential than our individual lifestyle choices or the medical treatments we may receive from our health care system. The authors explore how the social determinants of health interact and affect our health, what Canada is doing to address health inequalities that result from them, and they offer suggestions for improvement:
Raphael, D., Bryant, T., Mikkonen, J. and Raphael, A. (2020). Social Determinants of Health:
The Canadian Facts, 2nd Edition.
Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianfacts.org/
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Explore this website to learn more about how the Government of Canada defines the determinants of health and the social determinants of health. In addition, health inequities are defined and a list of resources and projects aimed at reducing health inequities in Canada is provided:
Canada, P. H. A. of. (2001, November 25). Social determinants of health and health inequalities [Policies]. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html
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Many of us have heard of the determinants of health or the social determinants of health - but have you ever considered the commercial determinants of health? This article explores how large corporations are using sporting events (a 'healthy thing') to promote alcohol and unhealthy food (a 'not so healthy thing'). The information presented is often shocking, but it is a reflection of the reality in which we live:
WHO | Commercial determinants of health: advertising of alcohol and unhealthy foods during sporting events. (n.d.). WHO. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.220087
Learn more about the Government of Canada's view on health, the determinants of health and the "Population Health Approach" adopted by the Public Health Agency of Canada:
Canada, P. H. A. of. (2008, September 12). What is health? [Organizational descriptions;policies] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-approach/what-is-health.html
