WHAT IS COMMUNITY HEALTH?

Health: A positive state of physical, mental, and social well being.

Health has previously been defined as the absence of disease and disability. The concept of health, however, is evolving and is now being defined by the World Health Organization (1985) as a positive state of physical, mental, and social well being.

It is now more widely acknowledged that people's lives, and therefore their health, are affected by every aspect of life, including their physical, social, and cultural environments (Centers for Disease Control, October 27, 2000).

An additional concept that is being more widely used is that of wellness. Wellness is a multidimensional concept involving the whole person's relation to the total environment that describes a process of moving toward optimal health. Dimensions often associated with wellness include emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, social, and physical wellness) (Edlin, Golanty, & Brown, 1996).

Wellness: A multidimensional concept involving the whole person's relation to the total environment that describes a process of moving toward optimal health.

When viewing an individual's health and wellness from a holistic perspective, the effect of health habits and environmental systems on an individual's health become apparent. These relationships become more complex when all individuals and their health are viewed collectively as a community.

Community health, therefore, includes many issues and areas of service that both impact the health status of individuals and the community and is impacted by the collective behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs of everyone who lives in the community. While numerous definitions of community health exist, the following definition is being used to guide this assessment:

The combination of sciences, skills and beliefs that is directed to the maintenance and improvement of the health of all the people through collective or social actions which emphasize the prevention of disease and the health needs of the population as a whole. Community health activities change with changing technology and social values, but the goals remain the same: to reduce the amount of disease, premature death, and disease-produced discomfort and disability in the population.(Last, 1988)