Our Party and State always consider health as the most precious capital of each person and the whole society. Protecting, educating and taking care of people’s health is a humanitarian activity, directly protecting human resources for the cause of national construction and defense, is one of the top priority policies of the Party and State.

The health of each individual is directly related to the health of the community and the nation. President Ho Chi Minh said, “Every weak citizen means the whole country is weak, every healthy citizen means the whole country is healthy. Practicing health improvement is the duty of patriotic people. Health is not only an individual property but also a public property, creating a source of health is not only an individual responsibility but also a community responsibility. Uncle Ho also said, “The qi and blood circulate, the spirit is full, that is health”.

The late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong said that “health is vitality, creative work, love and happiness”.

As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) “Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) “Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

Thus, it can be understood that health includes three aspects: physical health, mental health and social health.

Physical health is expressed in physical well-being and comfort. The more refreshing, the more comfortable, the more healthy one proves to be, it is expressed in the following abilities:

The ability of strong muscles to function, pushing, pulling, lifting power… when doing manual work comfortably such as carrying, operating machinery, using tools… that’s human strength.

The ability of the limbs to react quickly, walk, run, jump, do technical manipulations gently and comfortably. It is the agility in the body’s activities.

The ability to work or operate limbs relatively long and continuously without feeling tired.. that is toughness, endurance.

The ability to resist disease-causing factors such as less illness, if there is a disease, it will also quickly recover.

Ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions such as heat, cold, sudden weather changes.

The basis of physical health is the balance of each system and the balance of the four systems: contact, movement, visceral and control of the body.

Mental health is the embodiment of social, emotional, and spiritual satisfaction. Expressed in euphoria; in pleasant feelings, joyful emotions, serenity; in optimistic thoughts, love life; in positive, courageous and proactive life concepts; in the ability to resist pessimistic notions, unhealthy lifestyles.

It can be said: Mental health is the source of healthy living; is the foundation for quality of life, helping individuals to cope confidently and effectively with all challenges and risks in life. Mental health empowers us to live an active life, to achieve our goals in life, and to interact with others with respect and fairness.

Mental health is an expression of a healthy, civilized and ethical lifestyle.

Mrs. Elizabeth H. Blackurn, the Nobel laureate in biology, has shown that people live a long or healthy life 50% of the time due to maintaining psychological balance, while eating right accounts for 25%, and activities in life account for 25%. 25%! An angry person will release toxic hormones. Medical evidence shows that diseases such as cancer, arteriosclerosis, gastrointestinal ulcers, menstrual disorders, have 60-90% of symptoms related to psychological pressure. It can be said that it is a form of mental illness (psychological damage leads to physical damage).

The basis of mental health is balance and harmony in mental activity between reason and emotion.

Social health is the integration of the individual with the community. As Marx said: “Human is the synthesis of social relations”. Social health is expressed in the comfort in the interlaced, complicated relationships between members: family, school, friends, village, public place, agency, business… It is expressed in social acceptance and approval. The more you integrate with people, the more you are empathized and loved by everyone, the better your social health will be and vice versa.

A 20-year study by two American psychologists showed that among the factors that determine longevity and health, the number one position is good relationships between people.

The basis of social health is the balance between individual activities and interests with the activities and interests of society of others; is the integration of individuals, families and society.

There are many factors that determine human health, which are:

The genetic characteristics of the body, including those that reflect health such as skin color, hair color, height, weight, life expectancy … and some diseases can be caused by previous generations passing on (parents, grandparents, even further). Hereditary diseases in humans are diseases caused by genetic structural disorders including chromosomal disorders and genetic disorders. The treatment of genetic diseases and diseases is a difficult and expensive issue, so it is necessary to attach importance to disease prevention to reduce the incidence of genetic diseases in the population, bring happiness to many families and community contributes to the improvement of the race for each nation, each country.

Environment is the circumstances surrounding the living organism. Humans take food, water and oxygen from the environment and release waste products into the environment (faeces, urine, sweat, etc.).

At the same time, the body is also affected by many environmental factors such as temperature, humidity of the air, wind, rain, etc. In addition to the natural environment, humans are also influenced by the social environment, including many relationships. Complexity between individuals, families and communities such as values, beliefs, laws, culture, politics, economy, religion, health, education… Every human being has two sides: Human Biology is governed by the natural environment and human society is governed by the social environment.

The environment affects the quality of life, especially affects human health. It can be considered that the environment is a double-edged sword and how it is used is decided by humans.

Behavior and lifestyle include all aspects of human activities in terms of spirit and material such as thinking, emotions, eating, working, studying, resting, physical activities, sports, fun. play, culture… Healthy and civilized behavior and lifestyle will be beneficial to health, on the contrary, unhealthy and backward behavior and lifestyle will greatly affect health, life expectancy and quality individual as well as family and social life. As society develops, the material and spiritual life increases, and medical care is better and better, the health of each person and the community is mainly due to the behavior and lifestyle of each person and the community.

The health care service quality of the health care service system has a significant influence on the health status of each individual and the community. Quality of treatment and care; whether the quantity and quality of medicines are adequate or not; people’s accessibility to services (cost, distance from home to medical facility, waiting time,..); attitude of medical staff towards patients; nature of the health care system in the community (public or private healthcare; enterprises producing, distributing, supplying drugs, functional foods, medical equipment…), the negative effects of the health care system all affect the health of each individual and the community.

These four factors are closely related to each other and have an impact on health. Heredity determines the extent to which traits are expressed, while environment, behavior and lifestyle, and quality of health care services determine the possible expression of all traits within the limits set by heredity. It is the balance and harmony of all

biological, psychological and social abilities of the person. It is an important basis of human happiness.

With the current level of science, the direct impact on the genetic apparatus of each person to protect and improve health has made many progress, but it is still limited. Therefore, each individual and community can actively impact on the environment (fighting pollution and environmental degradation), actively practice hygiene behaviors, and build a scientific and healthy lifestyle. exercise, sports, entertainment, etc.), improve the quality of health care services in order to maximize the genetic capital of health to reach as close to the limit as possible.

As mentioned above, there are 4 determinants of health, there are 3 environmental factors, health care services and lifestyle behaviors related to the awareness, understanding and attitude of each citizen. of the community for the training, protection and improvement of health.

If each person, family and community can daily ensure a reasonable diet, increase physical activity, proactively prevent risk factors for disease, periodically check health at health facilities, etc. health facilities … will certainly contribute to reducing the burden of disease and death, improving the health, stature, life expectancy and quality of life of Vietnamese people.

Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Vo Ky Anh