Health Education Essay

849 Words4 Pages

We must define the concept of health before we can begin to measure it. Vijai P.Sharma (2003) suggests the word "health" refers to "being whole," which means being or becoming a whole person, physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. In the Indian language, the word for "health" is "svastha" which literally means, "being in the state of self." These phrases imply that our natural self is whole and healthy. Disease is unnatural and therefore not a part of our true self. The WHO have defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” If this is how we define health then we must ask ourselves, how many people are in full health in the world today? Health is a …show more content…

Education has been shown to result in healthier lives for people, children and communities. Education leads to an overall increase in health leading to better, healthier communities with a better quality of life and life expectancy. A good diet or exercising might not be very intriguing for some, but potentially delivers long term benefits in the form of a longer and healthier life. Education around preventative measures is key. According to Rodrigo R. Soares (2014), preventive medical care demands time and money, but might also improve future health prospects. This was recognised early on, and a paper on health was included in the 1961 conference organised by Theodore Schultz and Gary Becker that laid much of the groundwork for developments in human capital theory (Mushkin, 1962). The early explorations of health as human capital were somewhat timid conceptually and did not give the field a push that remotely resembled that received by the economic research on education. Nowadays we recognise the importance of education for promoting physical and emotional well-being. In physiotherapy for example almost every patient is given advice and education regarding their injury or illness. After the healing process has taken place it is essential to put into practice preventative measures in order to prevent

Open Document