Salutogenesis: discovering the causes of health
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21-Oct-2014 -
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Transcript of Salutogenesis: discovering the causes of health
Salutogenesis Discovering the Causes of Health
WE LIVE IN PATHOLOGY-CENTRIC
WORLD
More than 8000 factors that cause
disease have been discovered by
medical science.
Meanwhile the growing burden of
chronic illness is overwhelming our
medical systems.
Changes in our physical and cultural environment
have fueled this burden of disease.
Why do we have a widely-recognized
word that refers to origins of
disease: PATHOGENIC, while a
similar term meaning origins of
health is relatively unknown:
SALUTOGENIC
More than 8000 origins of disease
have overshadowed perhaps 800
generators of health.
It’s time to discover 8000 ways to
cause health.
SALUTOGENESIS
Antonovsky focused on what makes
certain people resilient as they face
the stressors of daily life.
Aaron Antonovsky coined the term
salutogenesis by combining Latin salus
= health and Greek genesis = origin.
Salutogenic Pathogenic
enhance health deterioration
Antonovsky saw a continuum
rather than dichotomy.
What we look for affects what we find.
We need to change what we look for.
“We were saturated in medical school
with negatives, things to worry
about—bad news and diseases.”
Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH Professor and Chair
Dept. of Environmental Health School of Public Health, UCLA
“I learned a lot of pathology, and a
lot about medicines. We were taught
virtually nothing about health.”
Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH
When we understand the concept of
salutogenesis, we change how we see
health in our everyday lives.
The salutogenic orientation brings
balance to a pathology-focused world.
“…I had to begin to learn less about
disease and a whole lot more about the
embedded health in the world around
me if I was to make an impact.” Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH
Many people cannot see how their
environment makes them feel.
They are unaware of what makes
them feel dis-ease…
…and often unable to analyze what
aspects make them feel better.
What makes a person resilient?
Rather than a pathology-centric
focus, we need to look upstream
to find the causes of resilience.
A salutogenic perspective will
reduce the costly burden of
medical services and treatments.
Why is this approach outside the norm?
THE LEAP UPSTREAM
SALUTOGENIC ORIENTATION
PATHOGENIC ORIENTATION
GOAL better medical interventions
FOCUS cure chronic disease
NORMS paternalism, entitlement
RELIES ON fixing parts of system
cause health
culture of active health
health asset development
improve our natural and built
environment
citizens consumers
passive active
The quest for sustainability is not enough.
We must create resilience and abundance.
“Do no harm” is yesterday’s pledge.
We need to build a society that places
health at the center of every decision.
health-centric medical systems
learning and research focused on
causes of health
healthy state of mind
healthy natural
environment health-enhancing
built environment
healthy civic engagement
HEALTH CREATION SOCIETY
healthy political systems
healthy financial systems
Vision of a Brighter Future
industrial economy
information economy
health creation society
1750 1950 2000
PASSIVE CONSUMERS ACTIVE
PARTICIPANT “PROSUMERS”
Major Historical Transitions
“We are not creating health…
we cannot build an economy
based on medical care. Eventually
we have to grow things that add to
the authentic wealth of the nation.”
Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH
photo credit: Flickr user reegone
Lack of awareness of dismal, draining places…
…needs to change from a blind eye to a critical eye.
Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH
“…inactivity, depression and loss of community
have not ‘happened’ to us…We legislated,
subsidized, and planned it this way.”
“do no harm”
repair and improve
set a bigger agenda:
build a solid economic
foundation on the energy,
capabilities and creativity of
a healthy society.
SURVIVE and FUNCTION
PRESERVE and SUSTAIN
INCLUDE REGENERATIVE
ELEMENTS
influence the whole system: natural, human and
built environmental elements
CAUSE HEALTH
EC
ON
OM
IC
AS
SE
T
Where will you set the bar?
We invite you to visit CauseHealth.org
to add your ideas for advancing salutogenesis
in our daily lives.
“In the western world, the
biomedical perspective has
been the leading perspective and
has thereby made medical care
into a business industry.”
Alan Dilani, PhD, Head, Research Center
Design and Health, Sweden
www.designandhealth.com
Alan Dilani has become widely recognized as the leader in applying
salutogenesis to creating healthy built environments. He emphasizes
the multiple dimensions of health, including physical, psychological,
emotional, spiritual and social well-being.
www.CauseHealth.org
www.farrowpartnership.com