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Human welfare
Published in S. Alexander Haslam, Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Society, 2020
However, in this chapter I am using the term ‘human welfare’ to cover a broader philosophical perspective: one that brings together a range of positive concepts such as wellbeing, wellness, quality of life and human flourishing. The Greeks had their own word for it – Eudaimonia, its underlying ethics based on the virtue of ‘living well’ but meant in a collective sense, as it includes a responsibility to ‘do good’. Human welfare, from this perspective, is what enables us to ‘live well’, in harmony with others and actively contributing to the common good. My concern here is not with a form of welfare that accepts that some people will only be able to ‘make do’, but about all people having the capacity to live meaningful, satisfying and comfortable lives. It is about them feeing secure and that they belong, that others care about them and are willing to care for them when they need it. It is living a life where you can achieve your potential, both in yourself and as part of your family and community. It is collective in its nature and very much to do with social connectedness.
The Health Psychologist’s Role: Research, Application, and Advocacy
Published in Deborah Fish Ragin, Health Psychology, 2017
The American Psychological Association’s Division of Health Psychology has also adopted a view of health psychology that approximates the ecological perspective. In 2002, the Division of Health Psychology revised their mission statement to reflect the changed perspective. They now note that psychology serves as a “means for promoting health, education, and human welfare” (American Psychological Association, 2004, Article I). In this context, “human welfare” refers to the cultural, economic, and organizational influences that contribute to an individual’s health status (Smith & Suls, 2004).
Introduction
Published in Paul Thomas, Collaborating for Health, 2017
In 2011 Hanlon et al. argued a need to reform public health practice to address issues of lifestyle and inequalities. This well-received paper described four previous ‘waves’ of public health practice. The authors argue a need for a fifth, with the following defining qualities: Recognise that the public health community is dealing not with simple systems that can be predicted and controlled, but complex adaptive systems with multiple points of equilibrium that are unpredictably sensitive to small changes within the system.Rebalance our mindset: from ‘anti’ (antibiotics, war on drugs, combating inequalities) to ‘pro’ (wellbeing, balance, integration), and from dominion and independence (through specialist knowledge and expertise) to greater interdependence and cooperation (the capacity to learn from and with others).Rebalance our models: from a mechanistic understanding of the world and of ourselves as mechanics who diagnose and fix what is wrong with individual human bodies or communities, to organic metaphors where we understand ourselves as gardeners, enabling the growth of what nourishes human life and spirit, and supporting life’s own capacity for healing and health creation.Rebalance our orientation: integrate the objective (measurement of biological and social processes) with the subjective (lived experience, inner transformation) and inter-subjective (shared symbols, meanings, values, beliefs and aspirations).Develop a future consciousness to inform the present, enabling innovation to feed the future rather than prop up the current unsustainable situation. Develop different forms of growth beyond the economic to promote high levels of human welfare.Iterate and scale up through learning – a design process where we try things out, learn and share this learning. The major challenge of ‘scaling up’, which requires us to develop promising new approaches, should be taken as a natural process of growth, driven by a desire to adapt and learn, rather than a mechanistic process that managers in large bureaucracies have responsibility for rolling out.
Health burdens amid COVID-19 pandemic: A stark barrier to labor productivity in Africa
Published in Health Care for Women International, 2023
Finally, the author emphasizes that health is a core goal and a critical component of human welfare; nonetheless, the significance of investing in health to enhance productivity in Africa has been neglected. Health burdens (i.e., a summary of population health-quality in terms of mortality and morbidity, as well as patterns (trends) within and among populations, as well as the likelihood of becoming sick or disabled, recognizing some risk factors and financial costs over time) are one of Africa’s most unpredictable and costly causes of economic hardship. The current outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which exacerbated health burdens in many African countries has exposed inadequacies of the health systems in the continent. Thus, if concerted efforts, as recommended by the author, are not taken seriously, the target of raising a healthy labor force and attaining sustainability in growth in many countries in Africa may remain futile.
Reflections on Radicalism in Social Work History: Moving Forward in a Difficult Time
Published in Journal of Progressive Human Services, 2022
Colleen Lundy, Therese Jennissen
At a biennial meeting of the CASW in 1956, a resolution was adopted that outlined the responsibilities of social workers in civil defense. The resolution stated that social workers have an ethical responsibility to assist wherever human and social welfare values were threatened. It mentioned that human welfare can be jeopardized from natural disasters such as fires, floods and hurricanes and also from the “catastrophe of nuclear war.” For these reasons social workers skills must be put to use in event of any of these casualties. While enduring the resolution at the meeting, social workers were adamant that their participation in civil defense was by no means an endorsement of war: “the CASW holds the abiding conviction that war in any of its forms is a reprehensible instrument for the resolving of international difference” (Jennissen & Lundy:102).
Enabling Factors of Subjective Well-being among Older Adults in Taiwan: The Welfare State and Beyond?
Published in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2021
Ming-Lun Chung, Ken Ka-Wo Fung, Chao-Lung Liu
The goal of social policies in modern welfare states is to protect citizens from various social risks and to maintain their basic living standards, especially through eradicating poverty and promoting human well-being. Promoting human welfare is the ultimate goal of social policy, which not only enables people to maintain a certain standard of living, but also increases their happiness. In this regard, the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is geared toward the goal of sustainable development, seeking to realize the human rights of all people. It is expected that anyone can ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for all segments of society, at all ages, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable groups in society, especially older adults.