Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government

FIGURE 1:SIX ASPECTS OF HEALTH (MEGGITT 2001:2)Environmental healthEnv i ro n m e ntal healthre fers to the genera lhealth of the soc i e ty inwhich we live. In areas offamine – where the firstp ri o ri ty for health is toobtain enough food –people may be denieda c cess to health. Pove rtyand ove rc rowded livingconditions are alln e g at i ve aspe cts ofe nv i ro n m e ntal health.Physical healthThis is the easiest aspectof health to measure.It involves the physicalfunctioning of the bodyand includes thegrowth and physicaldevelopment of thebaby and child.Mental healthMental health involvesour ability to organiseour thoughts logically,and is closely linkedto emotional andsocial health.The six aspects of healthSocial healthSocial health involvesthe way we relate toother people and formrelationships.Emotional healthEmotional healthinvolves how we expressemotions such as joy,grief, frustration,hurtand fear. This ability toexpress our ownemotions and to react toother people’s emotionsleads on to copingstrategies for anxietyand stress.Spiritual healthSpiritual healthinvolves personal,moral codes ofconduct – as wellas religious beliefsand practices.Figure 1: Reproduced with permission from Meggitt (2001:2)105