Why the definition of health matters

doi:10.1136/bmj.b28

From trainee to consultant, BMJ Group offers doctors around the world tailored information, special events, learning resources and recruitment services at every step along their career path.

... by doctors, for doctors, for patients
We are open for entries!

Online learning

BMJ Learning

High-quality CME / CPD for doctors and other healthcare professionals. BMJ Learning features hundreds of accredited, peer-reviewed learning modules in text, video, and audio formats. Find out more

Courses and Qualifications

BMJ Masterclasses

BMJ Masterclasses, led by experts, help clinicians to use the latest evidence and recent guidelines in practice and meet their CPD/CME requirements. Find out more

Exam Preparation

The leading provider of online exam preparation, helping over 167,000 healthcare professionals to pass their exams. Find out more

onExamination

Search all BMJ comment articles:

From

Limit by

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Peter G Davies, GP principal1

¹Keighley Road Surgery, Halifax HX2 9LL

npgdavies{at}blueyonder.co.uk

The definition of health is important.1 There is a biomedical component to health, but it exists in a setting that includes biological, personal, relational, social, and political factors.2 3

For too long, we as doctors have been timid about defining health, and mostly operated at the level of “absence of disease.” For too …