Meaning of Health

The Meaning of Health

One word that might indicate different things depending on the viewpoint from which it is used is "health." As a result, there may be confusion about what health really means and arguments may develop. Health is a state, and not just any state, but the whole state of being in good bodily, mental, and emotional health. It takes more than just being disease-free or having a healthy body to be considered healthy; one must also have a stable mind and a healthy surroundings. Simply put, the field of medicine is used to evaluate a person's health and then utilize science to try to find a solution. This paper will try to explain the meaning of health in a wider way. While health has several definitions and is taken differently by various people, health is more than a condition or possession.

Intersectionality and Health

Science is at most times credited to be responsible for determining illness or being unhealthy, but society also does play a role in determining the sickness of an individual as well. Intersectionality is one term that is used to explain in broad terms the meaning of health. This aspect moves beyond the preferred categories of analysis such as gender, sex, and race and contemplates on the simultaneous interactions that occur between various aspects of social identity. Also, it considers the impact of processes and systems of domination and oppression. Currently, many policymakers, practitioners, and health researchers that are connected to gender and sex now appreciate the importance of age, class, income, sexual orientation, geography, education, income, race, and ability and they are contending with how best respond and conceptualize to the various issues of differences that exist among men and women and most importantly how this shape the health of the individual involved. The answer to their question is intersectionality which is a research weapon that they use to understand the differences. This concept outlines how the ubiquitous favoring and treatment of one's sex as a primary and core dimension of health is currently affecting on the understanding of complexities of health outcomes and experiences (Hankivsky, 2012). Intersectionality insists that to understand health, one cannot overlook at age, class, income, sexual orientation, geography, education, income, race, and ability but instead, they have to examine them together since they are interconnected.

Sexuality and Health

Health is indeed a broad concept and cannot be explained by just one concept. Sexuality is another major issue that cannot just be overlooked when it comes to health. Currently, sexuality is a broad and influential term when one talks of health since it's regarded in initiatives such as health policy, service delivery, and public health. International bodies such as UN are currently taking into consideration and making laws related to health basing on the issue of sexuality. World health organization, in particular, has taken into consideration issues of sexual discrimination, sexual education, and sexual violence and considered them as a right to having good health or determine health in an individual (Miller & Vance, 2004). Sexuality hierarchy is currently being reviewed, and suggestions are being made to add them to various health programs.

Conclusion

In summary, health is a wide topic that carries with it many factors. As simple as the world may sound, when it comes to analyzing what it contains, one may be surprised to realize how wide it can be. Intersectionality suggests that health is composed of many attributes such as age, race, and ability that all work together to determine what is healthy. The concept of sexuality is currently fundamental in understanding the meaning of health. Health is certainly more than a condition or possession.

References

Hankivsky, O. (2012). Women’s health, men’s health, and gender and health: Implications of intersectionality. Social science & medicine, 74(11), 1712-1720.

Miller, A. M., & Vance, C. S. (2004). Sexuality, human rights, and health. Health and Human Rights, 7(2), 5-15.