ABSTRACT
DEFINING HEALTH AND HEALTH COMMUNICATION What does it mean to be healthy, or to be in good health? Good health is one of those things many people count among their blessings. When you’ve suffered loss or disappointment, you may have thought, “Well, at least i have my health.” When talking about what health means, we have to acknowledge that it goes well beyond how we feel physically, or being free of illness or injury. s ince 1948, the World Health o rganization (WHo ) has defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (p. 100). t he WHo later expanded this definition to include spiritual, intellectual, and environmental health. Working off of this definition for the purposes of this chapter, health is a state of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being, which is more than the mere absence of illness or injury.
