The key concepts in community medicine.

Table of Contents

Dimensions of health

Memory aid – story in hindi

• Kahani dimensions of health ki
  • Sabse pehle physical dimension mein aaya bacha (Physical dimension)–
  • Phir usne hosh sambhala (Mental dimension)
  • Phir us ne ma baap ko social smile di (Social dimension)
  • bache ki smile dekh ke parents ki spirit gad gad ho gayi (Spiritual dimension)
  • mummy to emotional ho gai (Emotional dimension)
  • or papa ko kaam ki tension ho gayi (Vocational dimension)
  • par unke culture bahaut high class tha (Cultural dimension)
  • is liye itna kharch ha gaya ki unhen economic setback lag gaya (Economic dimension)
  • is liye wo road pe aa gaye jahan unka evironmental dimension ka gyaat huya (Environmental dimension)
  • par ab to unke khaane ke bhi laale pad gaye to abhi dono apni aur bache ki nutritional dimension pe focussed hain (Nutritional dimension)

Concepts of health

• The concept of health has evolved through various perspectives

• The salient concepts are

  • Biomedical concept

    • Health is viewed as an 'absence of disease'.
    • Based on the germ theory of disease
    • It views the human body as a machine which gets broken down in a disease and needs repair
    • Limitation :
      • Concept found inadequate in solving multiple health problems.
      • This concept is unable to account for many health determinants.

  • Ecological concept

    • Health is viewed as a dynamic equilibrium between man and his environment.
    • Disease is result of disturbance of this equilibrium.

  • Psychological concept

    • health is affected by social, psychological, cultural, economic and political factors

  • Holistic concept

    • All sectors of a society are contributing towards the health condition of an individual.
    • Sectors are the not limited to medicine. Albeit all sectors are directly or indirectly contributing like transportation, communication, water supply, sewage disposal, housing, education, agriculture etc.
    • In summary
      • Holistic concept = Biomedical + Ecological + Psychosocial concepts

Seven determinants of health.

Story for memory – mutaape se pareshaan !!!

• I was born with a biological predisposition toward obesity (Biological Determinant);
• I got born because my parents wanted a boy (Gender);
• I was born in a big hospital (Health system);
• My father was a salaried person with good social status (Socioeconomic status);
• He provided a strict environment at home (Environmental determinant);
• Because of the strictness and bullying of my childhood years, I developed a habit of overeating. (Behavioral determinants);
• My weight compounded over the years and has made me very obese (Age).

WHO – Q & A on determinants of health.