Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ASCO Annual Meeting 2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Keep up to date with all the top stories and latest evidence with our hub page, including official congress videos and expert takeaways.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research

Concepts of health in different contexts: a scoping review

Authors: V. P. van Druten, E. A. Bartels, D. van de Mheen, E. de Vries, A. P. M. Kerckhoffs, L. M. W. Nahar-van Venrooij

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2022

Login to get access

Abstract

The rationale of our study was that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of health from 1947 which includes “… complete physical, mental and social wellbeing…” does not fit the current societal viewpoints anymore. The WHO’s definition of health implies that many people with chronic illnesses or disabilities would be considered unhealthy and complete wellbeing would be utopian and unfeasible for them. This is no longer uniformly accepted. Many alternative concepts of health have been discussed in the last decades such as ‘positive health’, which focusses on someone’s capability rather than incapability,. However, the question remains whether a general health concept can guide all healthcare practices. More likely, health concepts need to be specified for professions or settings. The objective of our study was to create a structured overview of published concepts of health from different perspectives by conducting a scoping review using the PRISMA-ScR guideline. A literature search was conducted in Pubmed and Cinahl. Articles eligible for inclusion focussed on the discussion or the conceptualisation of health or health-related concepts in different contexts (such as the perspective of care workers’ or patients’) published since 2009 (the Dutch Health Council raised the discussion about moving towards a more dynamic perspective on health in that year). Seventy-five articles could be included for thematic analyses. The results showed that most articles described a concept of health consisting of multiple subthemes; no consensus was found on one overall concept of health. This implies that healthcare consumers act based on different health concepts when seeking care than care workers when providing care. Having different understandings of the concepts of health can lead to misunderstandings in practice. In conclusion, from every perspective, and even for every individual, health may mean something different. This finding stresses the importance that care workers’ and healthcare consumers’ meaning of ‘health’ has to be clear to all actors involved. Our review supports a more uniform tuning of healthcare between healthcare providers (the organisations), care workers (the professionals) and healthcare consumers (the patients), by creating more awareness of the differences among these actors, which can be a guide in their communication.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Leonardi F. The definition of health: towards new perspectives. Int J Health Serv. 2018;48(4):735–48.PubMed
2.
Kelley L. The World Health Organization (WHO). World Heal Organ. 2008;(April 1948):1–157.
3.
Bircher J, Kuruvilla S. Defining health by addressing individual, social, and environmental determinants: new opportunities for health care and public health. J Public Health Policy. 2014;35(3):363–86.PubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Venkatapuram S. Health, vital goals, and central human capabilities. Bioethics. 2013;27(5):271–9.PubMed
5.
Huber M, Knottnerus JA, Green L, Van Der Horst H, Jadad AR, Kromhout D, et al. How should we define health? BMJ. 2011;343(jul26 2):d4163.PubMed
6.
Boorse C. Health as a theoretical concept. Philos Sci. 1977;44(4):542–73.
7.
Haverkamp B, Bovenkerk B, Verweij MF. A practice-oriented review of health concepts. J Med Philos A Forum Bioeth Philos Med. 2018;43(4):381–401.
8.
Nordenfelt L. Quality of life, health and happiness. Aldershot: Avebury Ashgate Publishing Limited; 1993.
9.
Nussbaum MC. Woman and human development. The capabilities approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2000.
10.
Bickenbach J. Reconciling the capability approach. Eur J Disabil Res. 2014;8:10–23.
11.
12.
Huber M, van Vliet M, Giezenberg M, Winkens B, Heerkens Y, Dagnelie PC, et al. Towards a patient-centred operationalisation of the new dynamic concept of health. Br Med J Open. 2016;6(1):1–12.
13.
East Iceland Health Institute (HSA). JÁKVÆÐ HEILSA & HEILSUHJÓLIÐ. 2020.
14.
Jambroes M, Nederland T, Kaljouw M, Van Vliet K, Essink-Bot ML, Ruwaard D. Implications of health as “the ability to adapt and self-manage” for public health policy: a qualitative study. Eur J Pub Health. 2016;26(3):412–6.
15.
Prinsen CAC, Terwee CB. Measuring positive health: for now, a bridge too far. Public Health. 2019;170:70–7.PubMed
16.
Hafen M. Of what use (or harm) is a positive health definition? J Public Health (Bangkok). 2016;24(5):437–41.
17.
Sturmberg JP, Martin CM, Moes MM. Health at the center of health systems reform: how philosophy can inform policy. Perspect Biol Med. 2010;53(3):341–56.PubMed
18.
Song M, Kong E-H. Older adults’ definitions of health: a metasynthesis. Int J Nurs Stud. 2015;52(6):1097–106.PubMed
19.
Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O’Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, et al. PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169(7):467.
20.
Abuelaish I, Goodstadt MS, Mouhaffel R. Interdependence between health and peace: a call for a new paradigm. Health Promot Int. 2020;35(6):1590–600.
21.
Amzat J, Razum O. Health, disease, and illness as conceptual tools: Medical sociology in Africa; 2014. p. 21–37.
22.
Conner AL, Boles DZ, Markus HR, Eberhardt JL, Crum AJ. Americans’ health mindsets: content, cultural patterning, and associations with physical and mental health. Ann Behav Med. 2019;53(4):321–32.PubMed
23.
Downey CA, Chang EC. Assessment of everyday beliefs about health: the lay concepts of health inventory, college student version. Psychol Health. 2013;28(7):818–32.PubMed
24.
Frenk J, Gómez-Dantés O. Designing a framework for the concept of health. J Public Health Policy. 2014;35(3):401–6.PubMed
25.
Kaldjian LC. Concepts of health, ethics, and communication in shared decision making. Commun Med. 2017;14(1):83–95.PubMed
26.
Karimi M, Brazier J. Health, health-related quality of life, and quality of life: what is the difference? Pharmacoeconomics. 2016;34(7):645–9.CrossRef
27.
Lipworth WL, Hooker C, Carter SM. Balance, balancing, and health. Qual Health Res. 2011;21(5):714–25.PubMed
28.
Makoul G, Clayman ML, Lynch EB, Thompson JA. Four concepts of health in America: results of national surveys. J Health Commun. 2009;14(1):3–14.PubMed
29.
Pietersma S, de Vries M, van den Akker-van Marle ME. Domains of quality of life: results of a three-stage Delphi consensus procedure among patients, family of patients, clinicians, scientists and the general public. Qual Life Res. 2014;23(5):1543–56.PubMed
30.
Shilton T, Sparks M, McQueen D, Lamarre MC, Jackson S. Proposal for new definition of health. BMJ. 2011;343(aug23 4):d5359.PubMed
31.
Thumboo J, Ow MYL, Uy EJB, Xin X, Chan ZYC, Sung SC, et al. Developing a comprehensive, culturally sensitive conceptual framework of health domains in Singapore. PLoS One. 2018;13(6):e0199881.PubMedPubMedCentral
32.
Williamson DL, Carr J. Health as a resource for everyday life: advancing the conceptualization. Crit Public Health. 2009;19(1):107–22.
33.
Alslman ET, Ahmad MM, Bani Hani MA, Atiyeh HM. Health: a developing concept in nursing. Int J Nurs Knowl. 2017;28(2):64–9.PubMed
34.
Ashcroft R, Van Katwyk T. Joining the global conversation: social workers define health using a participatory action research approach. Br J Soc Work. 2016:bcw005.
35.
Bąk-Sosnowska M, Skrzypulec-Plinta V. Health behaviors, health definitions, sense of coherence, and general practitioners’ attitudes towards obesity and diagnosing obesity in patients. Arch Med Sci. 2017;2:433–40.
36.
Hunter J, Marshall J, Corcoran K, Leeder S, Phelps K. A positive concept of health – interviews with patients and practitioners in an integrative medicine clinic. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2013;19(4):197–203.PubMed
37.
Johansson H, Weinehall L, Emmelin M. “It depends on what you mean”: a qualitative study of Swedish health professionals’ views on health and health promotion. BMC Health Serv Res. 2009;9(1):191.PubMedPubMedCentral
38.
Jormfeldt H. Attitudes towards health among patients and staff in mental health services: a comparison of ratings of importance of different items of health. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2009;45(2):225–31.PubMed
39.
Lyon BL. Stress, coping, and health, a conceptual overview. In: Handbook of stress, coping, and health: implications for nursing research, theory, and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc; 2012. p. 2–20.
40.
Merry L. Global health for nursing...and nursing for global health. Can J Nurs Res. 2012;44(4):20–35.PubMed
41.
Pace CS, Velotti P, Zavattini GC. Representations of health and illness by Eastern European, South American and Italian care workers: a qualitative study. J Health Psychol. 2011;17(4):490–9.PubMed
42.
Bickenbach J. Being unhealthy, and rights to health. J Law Med Ethics. 2013;41(4):821–8.PubMed
43.
Ebrahimi Z, Wilhelmson K, Moore CD, Jakobsson A. Frail elders’ experiences with and perceptions of health. Qual Health Res. 2012;22(11):1513–23.PubMed
44.
Gorecki C, Lamping DL, Brown JM, Madill A, Firth J, Nixon J. Development of a conceptual framework of health-related quality of life in pressure ulcers: a patient-focused approach. Int J Nurs Stud. 2010;47(12):1525–34.PubMed
45.
Post M. Definitions of quality of life: what has happened and how to move on. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2014;20(3):167–80.PubMedPubMedCentral
46.
Schrank B, Bird V, Tylee A, Coggins T, Rashid T, Slade M. Conceptualising and measuring the well-being of people with psychosis: systematic review and narrative synthesis. Soc Sci Med. 2013;92:9–21.PubMed
47.
Shearer NBC, Fleury JD, Reed PG. The rhythm of health in older women with chronic illness. Res Theory Nurs Pract. 2009;23(2):148–60.PubMed
48.
Warsop A. Medically unexplained symptoms and the meaning of health, a phenomenological clue. Psychiatry. 2009;8(5):149–52.
49.
Zhang H, Shan W, Jiang A. The meaning of life and health experience for the Chinese elderly with chronic illness: a qualitative study from positive health philosophy. Int J Nurs Pract. 2014;20(5):530–9.PubMed
50.
Boggatz T. Quality of life in old age - a concept analysis. Int J Older People Nursing. 2016;11(1):55–69.
51.
Cresswell-Smith J, Amaddeo F, Donisi V, Forsman AK, Kalseth J, Martin-Maria N, et al. Determinants of multidimensional mental wellbeing in the oldest old: a rapid review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2018;54(2):135–44.PubMed
52.
Fänge A, Ivanoff SD. The home is the hub of health in very old age: findings from the ENABLE-AGE project. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2009;48(3):340–5.PubMed
53.
Goins RT, Spencer SM, Williams K. Lay meanings of health among rural older adults in Appalachia. J Rural Health. 2011;27(1):13–20.PubMed
54.
Noghabi AA, Alhani F, Peyrovi H. Health hybrid concept analysis in old people. Glob J Health Sci. 2013;5(6):227–32.PubMedCentral
55.
Bauer GF, Roy M, Bakibinga P, Contu P, Downe S, Eriksson M, et al. Future directions for the concept of salutogenesis: a position article. Health Promot Int. 2020;35(2):187–95.PubMed
56.
Cloninger R, Salloum IM, Mezzich JE. The dynamic origins of positive health and wellbeing. Int J Pers Cent Med. 2012;2(2):179–87.PubMedPubMedCentral
57.
de Araújo JL, Araujo Paz EP, Moreira TMM. Hermeneutics and health, reflections on the thinking of Hans-Georg Gadamer. Rev da Esc Enferm da USP. 2012;46(1):194–201.
58.
Elliot D. Defining the relationship between health and well-being in bioethics. New Bioeth. 2016;22(1):4–17.PubMed
59.
Ereshefsky M. Defining ‘health’ and ‘disease’. Stud Hist Philos Sci Part C Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci. 2009;40(3):221–7.
60.
61.
Misselbrook D. Aristotle, Hume and the goals of medicine. J Eval Clin Pract. 2016;22(4):544–9.PubMed
62.
Reed PG. Adaptive preferences: a philosophical issue raised by an expanded model of health. Nurs Sci Q. 2019;32(3):201–6.PubMed
63.
van Spijk P. On human health. Med Health Care Philos. 2015;18(2):245–51.PubMed
64.
Sturmberg JP. Emergent properties define the subjective nature of health and disease. J Public Health Policy. 2014;35(3):414–9.PubMed
65.
Tengland P-A. Venkatapuram’s capability theory of health: a critical discussion. Bioethics. 2016;30(1):8–18.PubMed
66.
Tyreman S. The happy genius of my household: phenomenological and poetic journeys into health and illness. Med Health Care Philos. 2011;14(3):301–11.PubMed
67.
Boorse C. Concepts of health and disease; 2011. p. 13–64.
68.
Boorse C. A second rebuttal on health. J Med Philos. 2014;39(6):683–724.PubMed
69.
Schroeder SA. Rethinking health: healthy or healthier than? Br J Philos Sci. 2013;64(1):131–59.
70.
Messer N. Philosophical accounts of health, disease, and illness. In: Flourishing: health, disease, and bioethics in theological perspective: William B. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2013. p. 1–50.
71.
Proeschold-Bell RJ, LeGrand S, James J, Wallace A, Adams C, Toole D. A theoretical model of the holistic health of united methodist clergy. J Relig Health. 2009;50(3):700–20.PubMed
72.
Sadat Hoseini AS, Khosro Panah AH, Alhani F. The concept analysis of health based on Islamic sources, intellectual health. Int J Nurs Knowl. 2015;26(3):113–20.PubMed
73.
Tirodkar MA, Baker DW, Makoul GT, Khurana N, Paracha MW, Kandula NR. Explanatory models of health and disease among south Asian immigrants in Chicago. J Immigr Minor Health. 2011;13(2):385–94.PubMedPubMedCentral
74.
Walther NG, Proeschold-Bell RJ, Benjamin-Neelon S, Adipo S, Kamaara E. “We hide under the scriptures”: conceptualization of health among united methodist church clergy in Kenya. J Relig Health. 2015;54(6):2235–48.PubMed
75.
Kendall S, Lighton S, Sherwood J, Baldry E, Sullivan E. Holistic conceptualizations of health by incarcerated aboriginal women in New South Wales, Australia. Qual Health Res. 2019;29(11):1549–65.PubMed
76.
Mark GT, Lyons AC. Maori healers’ views on wellbeing: the importance of mind, body, spirit, family and land. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(11):1756–64.PubMed
77.
Seyedfatemi N, Salsali M, Rezaee N, Rahnavard Z. Women’s health concept, a meta-synthesis study. Iran J Public Health. 2014;43(10):1335–44.PubMedPubMedCentral
78.
Yang Y, Bekemeier B, Choi J. A cultural and contextual analysis of health concepts and needs of women in a rural district of Nepal. Glob Health Promot. 2016;25(1):15–22.PubMed
79.
Cha C. Health concept and health promotion process among Korean migrant women. Health Care Women Int. 2013;34(8):628–50.PubMed
80.
Martin SS. Healthcare-seeking behaviors of older Iranian immigrants: health perceptions and definitions. J Evid Based Soc Work. 2009;6(1):58–78.PubMed
81.
Jensen JM. Everyday life and health concepts among blue-collar female workers in Denmark: implications for health promotion aiming at reducing health inequalities. Glob Health Promot. 2013;20(2):13–21.PubMed
82.
Stronks K, Hoeymans N, Haverkamp B, den Hertog FRJ, van Bon-Martens MJH, Galenkamp H, et al. Do conceptualisations of health differ across social strata? A concept mapping study among lay people. BMJ Open. 2018;8(4):e020210.PubMedPubMedCentral
83.
Mayer C-H, Boness C. Concepts of health and well-being in managers: an organizational study. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2011;6(4):7143.
84.
Rawolle TA, Sadauskas D, van Kessel G, Dollman J. Farmers’ perceptions of health in the Riverland region of South Australia: ‘If it’s broke, fix it’. Aust J Rural Health. 2016;24(5):312–6.PubMed
Metadata
Title
Concepts of health in different contexts: a scoping review
Authors
V. P. van Druten
E. A. Bartels
D. van de Mheen
E. de Vries
A. P. M. Kerckhoffs
L. M. W. Nahar-van Venrooij
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07702-2

Other articles of this Issue 1/2022

BMC Health Services Research 1/2022 Go to the issue

Research

Role of community pharmacy professionals in child health service provision in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional survey in six cities of Amhara regional state

Research

Rural-urban prescribing patterns by primary care and behavioral health providers in older adults with serious mental illness

Research

Sustainability of weight loss from a family-centered pediatric weight management program integrated in primary care

Research

Assessment of formats and completeness of paper-based referral letters among urban hospitals in Rwanda: a retrospective baseline study

Research

A systematic review: the dimensions to evaluate health care performance and an implication during the pandemic

Research

The deployment of balanced scorecard in health care organizations: is it beneficial? A systematic review