The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concept of health, as well as the concept of disease, is central in veterinary medicine. However, the definitions "health" and "disease" are not generally acknowledged by veterinarians. The aim of this study w...

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Main Author: Gunnarsson Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2006-11-01
Series:Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
Online Access:http://www.actavetscand.com/content/47/1/71
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spelling doaj-11e8f3e5e67e4c788619d9f12e9d86082020-11-24T23:17:02ZengBMCActa Veterinaria Scandinavica1751-01472006-11-014717110.1186/1751-0147-47-71The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicineGunnarsson Stefan<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concept of health, as well as the concept of disease, is central in veterinary medicine. However, the definitions "health" and "disease" are not generally acknowledged by veterinarians. The aim of this study was to examine how the concepts "health" and "disease" are defined in veterinary textbooks.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Veterinary textbooks in several disciplines were investigated, but only textbooks with explicit definitions of the concepts were selected for examination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty out of the 500 relevant books within veterinary medicine were written for non-veterinarians. Eight percent of the books had an explicit definition of health and/or disease. More frequently, textbooks written for non veterinarians did have definitions of health or disease, compared to textbooks written for professionals. A division of health definitions in five different categories was suggested, namely:</p> <p>1. Health as normality, 2. Health as biological function, 3. Health as homeostasis, 4. Health as physical and psychological well-being and 5. Health as productivity including reproduction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Few veterinary textbooks had any health or disease definition at all. Furthermore, explicit definitions of health stated by the authors seemed to have little impact on how health and disease are handled within the profession. Veterinary medicine would probably gain from theoretical discussions about health and disease.</p> http://www.actavetscand.com/content/47/1/71
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Gunnarsson Stefan
spellingShingle Gunnarsson Stefan
The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
author_facet Gunnarsson Stefan
author_sort Gunnarsson Stefan
title The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
title_short The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
title_full The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
title_fullStr The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
title_full_unstemmed The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
title_sort conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine
publisher BMC
series Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
issn 1751-0147
publishDate 2006-11-01
description <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concept of health, as well as the concept of disease, is central in veterinary medicine. However, the definitions "health" and "disease" are not generally acknowledged by veterinarians. The aim of this study was to examine how the concepts "health" and "disease" are defined in veterinary textbooks.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Veterinary textbooks in several disciplines were investigated, but only textbooks with explicit definitions of the concepts were selected for examination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty out of the 500 relevant books within veterinary medicine were written for non-veterinarians. Eight percent of the books had an explicit definition of health and/or disease. More frequently, textbooks written for non veterinarians did have definitions of health or disease, compared to textbooks written for professionals. A division of health definitions in five different categories was suggested, namely:</p> <p>1. Health as normality, 2. Health as biological function, 3. Health as homeostasis, 4. Health as physical and psychological well-being and 5. Health as productivity including reproduction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Few veterinary textbooks had any health or disease definition at all. Furthermore, explicit definitions of health stated by the authors seemed to have little impact on how health and disease are handled within the profession. Veterinary medicine would probably gain from theoretical discussions about health and disease.</p>
url http://www.actavetscand.com/content/47/1/71
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