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Lay definitions. |
What happens when you ask the general public what they consider health to be? A number of studies have addressed this question.
Calnan (1987) examined health and illness within a British context. He asked respondents to select the explanation for what is healthy and what is not healthy.
Undertake a similar exercise to that of Calnan's respondents. Using the tables below, select just one explanation that you consider defines "health" and another that defines "not being healthy".
| Being healthy is: | Not being healthy is: |
| Getting through the day | Below normal continually |
| Never being ill | Poor lifestyle |
| Feeling strong | Lack of energy |
| Feeling fit | Being ill/something wrong |
| Being active/energetic | Having a serious illness |
| Getting plenty of exercise | Having a long-term illness |
| A state of mind | Having an incurable illness |
| Not being overweight | Going to the doctor |
| Able to cope with life's stresses | Being depressed/unhappy |
| Not coping with life | |
| Losing weight | |
| Unable to work | |
| Being in bed/hospital |
It is difficult to just tick one element, isn’t it? What can you infer from your difficulties?
The definition of "being healthy" provided by Calnan's respondents is provided in the table.
| Type of explanation | Upper/Middle
social class (number of respondents) |
Working class (number of respondents) |
| Getting through the day | 8 | 15 |
| Being active/energetic | 14 | 4 |
| Never being ill | 0 | 10 |
| Feeling fit | 7 | 2 |
| Feeling strong | 6 | 0 |
| State of mind | 5 | 0 |
| Being able to cope with life's stresses | 5 | 0 |
| Plenty of exercise | 4 | 0 |
| Not overweight | 4 | 0 |
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