Towards a Common Understanding of the Health Sciences

Area of Science:

• The field of health sciences encompasses disciplines dedicated to maintaining and improving individual and population health.
• It addresses health needs and societal responses, integrating biological, clinical, and socio-humanistic perspectives.

Background:

• Health research has grown significantly, involving diverse scientific traditions.
• A unified understanding of health sciences is crucial for contextualizing research and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a common conceptualization of health sciences, responding to the Ottawa Charter's call for improved healthcare.
• To leverage the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for a universal operationalization of health.
• To create a framework that acknowledges the richness and vitality of the health sciences field.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of health sciences informed by the WHO ICF and health systems definitions.
• Examination of content and methodological approaches from biological, clinical, and socio-humanistic research traditions.

Main Results:

• A specification of health sciences content based on health needs and societal responses.
• A meta-level framework for representing scientific disciplines involved in health research.
• A heuristic framework for shared methodological approaches across disciplines.

Conclusions:

• The proposed conceptualization aims to contextualize the work of health researchers.
• This framework is intended to foster greater interdisciplinarity within the health sciences.