"Health is like beauty – in the eye of the beholder."
Like beauty, health is a universally understood definition; but do we all universally agree on what health means? Dr. Alex Jadad, Chief Innovator, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, UHN, believes in the "elimination of unnecessary suffering and the pursuit of joy."
He's visited 94 countries to understand what health means around the world and start a global conversation about the kind of care we need versus what our health care system delivers. The results have produced a radical re-conceptualization of health as what Dr. Jadad explains is "the ability to adapt and self-manage in the presence of physical, mental and social challenges. We should consider health as a general concept versus a concrete definition." Just how radical is this idea? It made the cover of the British Medical Journalearlier this year.
» PREVIOUSLY: Watch Dr. Jadad on TVO's Agenda, talking about the health care system
"Now we have a new role – to enable people."
Working with a team of colleagues from across UHN, Dr. Jadad has developed the Staircase of Support; a structure that encourages communities to build a health care system that reaches beyond hospital walls. The Staircase of Support envisions a health system that mobilizes its resources to cross traditional boundaries and empower patients and caregivers to self-help, build stronger support networks in the community, access effective primary care teams and use hospital services only when the hospital is actually the best place for them to get the care they need.
"We need to turn health professionals back into healers – people who go beyond fixing your condition and look at you as a whole person," says Dr. Jadad. "We need to recuperate what we've lost – a sense of reliance on each other."
What does health mean to you? Join the conversation.
If you'd like to join the discussion, participate in the development of new services that promote health and wellness, or learn more about them, visit the Centre for Health, Wellness and Cancer Survivorship (ELLICSR) at TGH (CSB – BCS021). Contact ELLICSR at 416-581-8620 or ellicsr@rmp.uhn.on.ca.
-Erica Di Maio
