Naslov
The founding of Zagreb’s Institute for the Culture of Health: an important step toward a new medical paradigm.

Autori
Đorđević, Veljko ; Braš, Marijana ; Kulić, Slavko ; Demarin, Vida.

Izvornik
Croatian medical journal (0353-9504) 51 (2015), 1; 1-3

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, ostalo

Ključne riječi
Zagreb Institute; Culture of Health

Sažetak
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of illness and exhaustion. It is one of the fundamental human freedoms: all intelligent beings and all vertebrates are entitled to it. It arises from necessity or will, but not from fear. The human species exercises this aspect of freedom through its way of life. How can we accomplish such a health status of individuals and communities in the current social context? Can one grow and make progress outside of his or her context and culture? Does health exist only as a postulate of biology or is it something much larger? Are we able to focus on stimulating the healthy and creative forces in our population that are so important for coping with disease, maintaining hope, fighting for life, and not giving up? We are witnessing an unprecedented development of personalized medicine. However, we must not lose sight of the patient as a person in favor of technological superiority (1). The medical interview provides a framework through which we can explore and understand patients' concerns, fears, misconceptions, and what they bring to their illness, while taking into consideration their culture, the availability of various treatment options, and financial considerations (2). Medicine as a whole, particularly person-centered medicine, arises from the geobiosocial understanding of life. It is based on the principle of co-operation and tolerance in the evolution of life, and on the principle of co- operation in cell biology. This is opposite to the geobiopolitical understanding of life, based on conflict, confrontation with life and nature (which is the cause of all forms of illness – in humans, animals, and plants) (3). Modern pathology arises from the wrong types of knowledge and our mind’s incapacity to understand health and life. Good health is the product of both the individual and the community ; health is not a given, it is something that must be fought for, worked toward, and invested in. It represents the ultimate material, spiritual, and cultural resource of a community. In order for this approach to be successful, we need to find ourselves on a path that leads to the humanization of man. We must stop living for illness and start fighting for health. We should view each person as a unique individual, whatever their biopsychosocial needs may be, and not merely as a diagnosis or a sum of their symptoms (4).

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kliničke medicinske znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA