Salutogenesis Discovering the Causes of Health

WE LIVE IN PATHOLOGY-CENTRIC

WORLD

More than 8000 factors that cause

disease have been discovered by

medical science.

Meanwhile the growing burden of

chronic illness is overwhelming our

medical systems.

Changes in our physical and cultural environment

have fueled this burden of disease.

Why do we have a widely-recognized

word that refers to origins of

disease: PATHOGENIC, while a

similar term meaning origins of

health is relatively unknown:

SALUTOGENIC

More than 8000 origins of disease

have overshadowed perhaps 800

generators of health.

It’s time to discover 8000 ways to

cause health.

SALUTOGENESIS

Antonovsky focused on what makes

certain people resilient as they face

the stressors of daily life.

Aaron Antonovsky coined the term

salutogenesis by combining Latin salus

= health and Greek genesis = origin.

Salutogenic Pathogenic

enhance health deterioration

Antonovsky saw a continuum

rather than dichotomy.

What we look for affects what we find.

We need to change what we look for.

“We were saturated in medical school

with negatives, things to worry

about—bad news and diseases.”

Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH Professor and Chair

Dept. of Environmental Health School of Public Health, UCLA

“I learned a lot of pathology, and a

lot about medicines. We were taught

virtually nothing about health.”

Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH

When we understand the concept of

salutogenesis, we change how we see

health in our everyday lives.

The salutogenic orientation brings

balance to a pathology-focused world.

“…I had to begin to learn less about

disease and a whole lot more about the

embedded health in the world around

me if I was to make an impact.” Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH

Many people cannot see how their

environment makes them feel.

They are unaware of what makes

them feel dis-ease…

…and often unable to analyze what

aspects make them feel better.

What makes a person resilient?

Rather than a pathology-centric

focus, we need to look upstream

to find the causes of resilience.

A salutogenic perspective will

reduce the costly burden of

medical services and treatments.

Why is this approach outside the norm?

THE LEAP UPSTREAM

SALUTOGENIC ORIENTATION

PATHOGENIC ORIENTATION

GOAL better medical interventions

FOCUS cure chronic disease

NORMS paternalism, entitlement

RELIES ON fixing parts of system

cause health

culture of active health

health asset development

improve our natural and built

environment

citizens consumers

passive active

The quest for sustainability is not enough.

We must create resilience and abundance.

“Do no harm” is yesterday’s pledge.

We need to build a society that places

health at the center of every decision.

health-centric medical systems

learning and research focused on

causes of health

healthy state of mind

healthy natural

environment health-enhancing

built environment

healthy civic engagement

HEALTH CREATION SOCIETY

healthy political systems

healthy financial systems

Vision of a Brighter Future

industrial economy

information economy

health creation society

1750 1950 2000

PASSIVE CONSUMERS ACTIVE

PARTICIPANT “PROSUMERS”

Major Historical Transitions

“We are not creating health…

we cannot build an economy

based on medical care. Eventually

we have to grow things that add to

the authentic wealth of the nation.”

Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH

photo credit: Flickr user reegone

Lack of awareness of dismal, draining places…

…needs to change from a blind eye to a critical eye.

Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH

“…inactivity, depression and loss of community

have not ‘happened’ to us…We legislated,

subsidized, and planned it this way.”

“do no harm”

repair and improve

set a bigger agenda:

build a solid economic

foundation on the energy,

capabilities and creativity of

a healthy society.

SURVIVE and FUNCTION

PRESERVE and SUSTAIN

INCLUDE REGENERATIVE

ELEMENTS

influence the whole system: natural, human and

built environmental elements

CAUSE HEALTH

EC

ON

OM

IC

AS

SE

T

Where will you set the bar?

We invite you to visit CauseHealth.org

to add your ideas for advancing salutogenesis

in our daily lives.

“In the western world, the

biomedical perspective has

been the leading perspective and

has thereby made medical care

into a business industry.”

Alan Dilani, PhD, Head, Research Center

Design and Health, Sweden

www.designandhealth.com

Alan Dilani has become widely recognized as the leader in applying

salutogenesis to creating healthy built environments. He emphasizes

the multiple dimensions of health, including physical, psychological,

emotional, spiritual and social well-being.

www.CauseHealth.org

www.farrowpartnership.com