The Meaning of Health

1
The Meaning of Health

• It is constructed via communication
• It shapes our health experience

2
We communicate health by

• Talking to friends
• Doctors
• Or by how we cope with an illness
• Or by how we interpret media messages about
  health
• Health and its issues surround us daily as we
  interact with others

3
When we communicate health with others, we

• Are affected by situations
• Roles
• Identities
• Societal structures
• Stories
• These shape our personal experiences we have when
  communicating health

4
Stories

• They can be told
• They can be untold
• Stories of certain illnesses lead to
  marginalization of others
• As stories are shared, personal power is gained
• So is political power

5
Shared experiences

• we draw from stories we hear and tell
• are the foundation of how we theorize about
  health
• Ambiguous boundaries exist between
• biological health
• spiritual health
• psychological health
• social health
• We realize health goes beyond medicine

6
Theorizing everyday health practices

• The lived experience of
• critical thinking
• narrating
• and explaining things

7
bell hooks

• Theory is a location of healing if we direct
  theorizing toward that end
• The significant stories in our lives allows us to
  explore meanings of health that are often ignored

8
Narrating life and communicating health

• Wounded storytellers we try to heal by sharing
  stories
• Humans are storytellers by nature
• (Walter Fisher- homo narrans)
• Narratives may be source for healing..
• comfort
• spiritual maturation
• Epiphanies
• life lessons
• turning points

9
Storytelling and collaboration

• Illness problem-solving can be a collaborative
  effort between healer and patient
• But it depends on how well the participants are
  able to intertwine and enmesh parts of their
  respective accounts
• A synthesis of stories/narratives occurs to move
  toward a healing outcome

10
Aside- elements of a story

• A story contains
• a scene
• a time
• characters
• and a narrator voice

11
Enacting Health Citizenry

• or the range of health-related activities people
  participate and interact in
• like health care professionals
• and/or health consumers
• The term citizen implies a sense of
  universality and responsibility among all members
  of a society

12
Conceiving representations of health in everyday
life

• Health is often represented symbolically
• This means means we must consider the use of
  language
• Images
• And all other symbols used to create shared
  meaning

13
The term Health what can it mean?

• Nutrition
• Shelter
• Medical care
• Well-being
• Safety
• Emotional stability

14
Disease

• Experiencing a disease can cause a redefinition
  of health
• By the patient
• And by those around the patient