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Concepts of Health and Illness

Concepts of Health and Illness

Health is a condition of the body, mind, and spirit where an individual remains free from illness. Similarly, wellness is an active state, including living a lifestyle that promotes physical, mental, and emotional health. Physical health is critical for the overall well-being and can be affected by lifestyle, activity level, diet, and behavior. The highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental and universal human right. Consider Lisa, a fifteen-year-old born with congenital...

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The factors influencing the health-illness continuum can be internal or external and may or may not be under conscious control. They are related to the following eight human dimensions, and each dimension is interrelated to one other.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Published on: June 20, 2020

On health, ability and activity: comments on some basic notions in the ICF.

Lennart Nordenfelt¹

¹Department of Health and Society, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Disability and Rehabilitation

|December 15, 2006

Summary

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model of health is criticized for including actual performance. This paper argues that ability, not performance, should define health, proposing an opportunity qualifier instead.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Published on: June 20, 2020

Area of Science:

Philosophy of Medicine
Health Sciences
Rehabilitation Sciences

Background:

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) presents a holistic health model.
The ICF includes both ability and actual performance in its definition of health.

Purpose of the Study:

To critically evaluate the ICF's holistic health perspective.
To challenge the inclusion of actual performance as a component of health within the ICF framework.

Main Methods:

Utilizes philosophical action theory.
Employs distinctions between ability, opportunity, activity, and will.
Draws upon contemporary philosophical discussions on health concepts.

Main Results:

The ICF's emphasis on performance qualifiers is questioned for its relevance to health and healthcare decisions.
Ability and disability are core to the ICF's health philosophy.

Conclusions:

The ICF's inclusion of performance alongside ability in health is argued to be untenable.
An 'opportunity qualifier' is proposed as a more suitable alternative to the ICF's 'performance qualifier'.