Defining health through a critical materialist political economy lens

Author:

Medvedyuk Stella1ORCID,Raphael Dennis2ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Graduate Program in Health Policy and Equity, York University, Toronto, Canada

2. School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto, Canada

Abstract

It has been recognized since antiquity that the organization of society and how it distributes resources are the primary determinants of health. Yet most definitions of health in the academic and practice literatures limit their focus to the individual’s experience of health and functional abilities, neglecting the structures and processes of societies in which the individual is embedded. We draw upon developments in the critical health communication and critical materialist political economy of health literatures to provide a definition of health that directs attention to the role that economic and political systems play in either equitably or inequitably distributing the resources necessary for health. Since these distributions interact with the individual’s unique biological and psychological dispositions and situations to produce health, it is important to identify their sources and means of making their distributions more equitable. Because it is through communication that humans interpret society, themselves, and others, a concise definition of health that draws attention to these societal features and their roles on a day-to-day basis in promoting or threatening health is essential.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Reference48 articles.

1. World Health Organization. Bulletin of the World Health Organization: Supplement. Geneva: WHO; 1948.

2. Globalization and the Decline of Social Reform

3. Health Promotion Glossary 2021

4. The Definition of Health: Towards New Perspectives

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