Health as a goal and path to a sound society

Health as a goal and path to a sound society

Introduction

The model which I present here is a result of the knowledge and experience I have gained from my work at the County Council of Östergötland and other assignments. The purpose of the model is to illustrate how a holistic perspective with regards to health issues can strengthen both women’s and men’s health as well as contribute to societal development. I would like to highlight the perspective regarding equality of opportunity and its significance in public health efforts as well as demonstrate the significance of how women’s and men’s different living conditions and prerequisites are considered in terms of political decision-making and practical operations. I see the model being applicable regionally, nationally and globally. My hope is that the approach of seeing health both as a goal and a path can contribute to an equal and equal opportunity society – a sound society.

I am a social studies graduate and have worked with the County Council of Östergötland since 1982. Through my work and research I have acquired knowledge and expertise in many areas such as public health, equality issues, and personal development, integration, and child and youth issues. As a public servant I have also worked as a political secretary for numerous political bodies.

The model - Health as a goal and path to a sound society

Health is a fundamental human right and a prerequisite for the realization of other rights.
Some of society’s biggest challenges involve ensuring that people have resources for a good life, decreasing health risks in different environments and rendering healthy choices possible for every individual. People’s health is the determining factor for society’s economic and democratic development. Society’s development in turn, is the determining factor for people’s health. The link is therefore mutual and interlinked.

A public health approach denotes that the starting point and subsequent process is based upon the factors which decide an individual’s health. The approach is illustrated by the model’s fan with health determinant factors which show that health issues exist on different levels and are concerns for the individual as well as society at large. Both living conditions and habits influence a person’s health. Many factors are easily influenced through political decisions but others are the individual’s own choices. (This part of the model was created by Göran Dahlgren and Margret Whitehead in 1991

Gender equality involves women and men having the same power to shape society and their own lives. Society today has a power imbalance which results in different living and working conditions for men and women. This is intrinsically linked with structures which are based on the premise that men are superior and women are inferior.

This gender equality theory is not the only power system in play which affects an individual's living conditions and lifestyle. Other power structures based on class, age, disability, sexual identity and ethnicity interact with gender equality in different ways (Connell 2003). According to social scientist Gertrud Åström, gender equality is a normative foundation, i.e. gender comprises the platform to then layer other forms of power structures on top. For these reasons it is important that a gender perspective is made visible as a basis for public health issues, integrated into the determinants of health and considered in decision making and the development of measures.