Sierra Leone: An Analysis Of Health Around The World

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

Naidoo and Wills(2001, p.47) “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ - WHO (1946).” This definition falls into a holistic way of defining health, which believes that there are more areas to look at when thinking of health than just simply the absence of a disease. It considers the cause of why someone is ill and not just simply about ’fixing it’.

But over the past few decades, the definititon and concept of health has evolved to encompass more elements than just the physical well-being of a person. This is partly attributed to various researches and studies that have taken place around the world in the last 60 years. Already in 1948, the World Health Organization declared that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not

Health has been influenced by many factors such as poor health status, disease risk factors, and limited access to healthcare. All these factors are due to social, economic and environmental disadvantages. According to the World Organization (WHO) (2015), “the social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities, which is the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries”

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organisation, 2011)

The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult

I assume that in today’s world, there is a lot of information and scholarly research available that shows factors such as economic status, income, social situations, education, ethnicity, employment, availability of affordable housing and geographical (place where one was born and lives) conditions have a tremendous impact on the health and well-being of individuals, countries and communities (Amaro, 2014). Inequalities in health and well-being are created by social determinants and economic conditions for many in our community (Brannigan &Boss). The people that are affected the most are people with low income and minority groups here in the United States. This creates health disparities and unequal care (Brannigan &Boss). In many developing and under-developed countries, the situation is dire: lack of modern health services, illiteracy, poor economic conditions has created a cultural situation of desperation and unhealthy behaviors. Corruption by African governments is rampant. To improve the health and wellbeing of communities, we need to start thinking of how we can create a culture of health.

Firstly, looking at the positive definition of health, it is a positive concept, highlighting social and personal resources together with physical capacities. According to the World

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" (1920, C.E.A. Winslow). This therefore infers public health is the preventing and controlling of disease within communities, to prolong life and promote health through organised society. The keys aspects of public health …

Healthcare is the improvement of physical and mental health through the assistance of medical services. The right to health care is an internationally recognized human right. In 1948, 48 nations, including the United States, signed the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “In this document it is stated that everyone should have the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of oneself and one’s family, including medical care” (Right to Health Care ProCon.org). People have the right to receive the health care they deserve regardless of the costs. It is a basic human right to be provided with the medical care and assistance needed to live.

The World Health Organisation defined health: “State of complete physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO, 1946 p.100). Many factors influence health such as family traits, behaviours, access to quality healthcare and environment (quality of air, bad/good water and housing conditions) (WHO, 1946). The holistic view of health combines the mind (mental), body (physical), emotional and spiritual elements to a person (Ewes & Simnett, 2003).

Health is a complex concept, and global health adds to this complexity. When I think of health as a concept, I view it as being absent of disease. This understanding is a very biomedical approach to health and is a very narrow viewpoint of health. According to the World Health Organization (1948), health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (a cited by Jacobsen p. 2). This definition does give a better understanding of what health is from a broader perspective. At the University of Victoria’s Global Health class, I have become to understand better the WHO’s definition and that it is linked to the social determinants of health. In this paper, I will reflect and analyze the learning that occurred for myself while taking the Global Health class, and how this knowledge has helped my nursing practice evolve at the local and international level.

Colonialism is a feature of European expansion that took control of territory and people across the world starting in the 16th century. The last wave of colonialism was in Africa during the late nineteenth century, and these African colonies did not gain independence until the end of World War II. Decolonization was followed by years of economic, political, and social instability that made living conditions worse for the individuals in society. In this era of globalization, the economic strength of Western powers has created a new type of imperialism over the developing nations. A growing inequality gap between rich and poor countries has resulted in lower living standards in areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where a majority of the

Thus, finding methods of educating people, and providing medical aid for these preventable diseases can avoid many deaths. Second reason for attending global health issue is for balancing resources. According to The Lancet Journal, ninety percent of the world’s health care resources are spent on diseases that affect only ten percent of the world’s population. (Norris, 2009) Therefore, ensuring that resources are evenly distributed throughout the world would assist to limit the diseases from spreading from country to country. Third, global health can influence Canadians indirectly such as, the increase of diseases. Some of these diseases becoming more prevalent is HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB and are increasing poverty and political instability within countries. (Worldwide HIV & AIDS Statistics, 2009) Thus, global health should be a concern because it can help prevent civil conflict in other countries. (Worldwide HIV & AIDS Statistics, 2009) Fourth, global health should be a concern across all nations as there is more contact amongst people because of globalization diseases occurs at a faster rate. Globalization is defined as a modern phenomenon process by which countries and peoples are increasingly interconnected, integrated, and interdependent that occurred over centuries. (Andrews, 2010) Since the world is increasingly becoming interconnected, diseases can travel from nation to nation and it can cause

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”