Definition of Health and Health Equity Equality

Health Equity and Equality

Davies (2009) defines health as "the capacity to do what matters most to you." A extremely broad yet simple definition, he manages to distill complex issues of biomedical factors, mental health, and quality of life into a clear concept. In Davies view of health, poor health would be a condition or circumstance that blocks an individual from doing activities or living a lifestyle upon which he places importance. A businessman with a chronic illness who enjoys his work may describe his health as "good" if he is symptom-free and able to dedicate full-time hours to his work. Alternatively a competitive tennis player who is bed-ridden due to a pulmonary embolism may describe her health as "poor" or "unstable" because she is unable to take part in her normal activities, can't make public appearances and is unaccustomed to being inactive or isolated for any significant period of time.

Physical factors, mental health issues, and socioeconomic or cultural factors can all strengthen or hinder our health. A young student with excellent physical health who lives in a low-income neighborhood with a great deal of violence may find that his emotional health is negatively affected by the constant threat of injury or loss. In cases such as these some students who enjoy learning actually miss school or don't participate in activities do to lack of safe transportation. Thus, social factors can block this student's ability to do what he cares about.

Davies does an excellent job of extracting a simple question to gauge health: can you do what "matters to you the most" in your current condition, environment and circumstances?

B. According to the World Health Organization (2008), health equality concerns the quality, delivery, and availability of medical care across socioeconomic classes. There is a lack of health equality, for example in a country where wealthy individuals can receive high quality, private medical care, but poor individuals, who may rely on a public health system may receive lower quality services, treatments, or medications. Health equity and inequity concerns "systematic differences in health" that can be avoided with reasonable action. Inequity results because the proper actions are not taken.

An excellent example of health inequities and wide scale projects designed to offer solutions are the various public health projects that have been undertaken by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates formed the foundation due to his enduring conviction that health inequities should not exist. Through their Global Health programs they research preventable diseases and design effective delivery programs. These diseases, such as polio or measles, are not found in many countries where vaccines are available, but due to inequity in distribution and delivery, young children in Guatemala often suffer from these illness and related health complications (Gates, 2007).