Concepts of Health, Wellness, Illness and Disease

Running head: CONCEPTS OF HEALTH 1
Concepts of health, wellness, illness and disease
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CONCEPTS OF HEALTH 2
Concepts of health, wellness, illness and disease
Introduction
During these modern times being in good health is one of the most precious values in life
Therefore, it is crucial for medical professionals to be familiar with issues regarding health.
Health professionals are expected to offer any necessary help needed in order to reduce any
negative health state. These concepts overlap since a person who is not well is often sick, and
diagnosed with an illness or disease. Additionally, health, wellness, illness and disease go far
beyond the individual, as they encompass a wide range of experiences and events which are
relative to social norms and context.
Health
Although health cannot be measured, it has been defined concerning the presence or
absence of diseases. Florence Nightingale defined it as a state of being well. Similarly, WHO
defines it as a state of being complete both mentally, physically, and socially (Poortaghi, 2015).
Indeed, WHO stresses that health is a human right and should be achieved at all costs. A healthy
person is therefore one who would be able to achieve to his or her optimum potentials.
According to various scholars, health is defined as the act of being free from diseases, being
active and in a good health state at all times. Health is whereby the mind and all the other
functions of the body are normally active. Whenever an individual does not show observable
signs of illness he is well. Health consists of the following elements:
 It is an essential part of wellbeing
 It contributes to social and economic wellbeing
 It should be managed to promote good health, manage risks and prevent diseases.

CONCEPTS OF HEALTH 3
There are different ideas of health including biomedical concept, which sees wellbeing as the
nonappearance of sickness. Secondly, the ecological concept sees health as a dynamic balance
among man and his surroundings. Thirdly, the psychosocial concept characterizes wellbeing as a
natural and social phenomenon. Lastly, the holistic concept also characterizes health as a balance
of body, mind, and spirit (Hooper, 2016).
Wellness
Dunn in the 1960s first coined the description of wellness, and he depicted it as a high
level of functioning found in a person’s maximum health potential while remaining in balance
with the environment, regardless of current state of health. It is a dynamic process of change and
growth. According to psychologists the wellbeing of an individual have objective and subjective
components, the objective being the standard of living which consists of recreation, clothing
working conditions and many others. Whereas the subjective being the quality of life which
comprises of satisfaction and gratification which is mostly experienced in marriage, family work
and financial institutions. They have pointed Wellness is what describes the health status of an
individual. Wellbeing enables health to be set on a continuum from ones ideal dimension to a
maladaptive state. However, the process keeps on changing since a well individual has some
level of sickness, and the sick individual has some level of wellbeing. Wellness and illness
coincide in the same person. Wellness can still be achieved even if with illness as long as it does
not interrupt the daily activities of a person. People should be mobilized to participate in the
legislation of health policies, projects, reforms and programs that will empower them to become
self-reliant. The fundamental aspects of wellness include:
 An ultimate goal