A Culture Of Health And Human Rights.

Publisher: Project Hope Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 8303128 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1544-5208 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02782715 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Health Aff (Millwood) Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: : Bethesda, MD : Project Hope
Original Publication: Millwood, Va. : Project Hope, c1981-

Culture* ; Health Policy* ; Human Rights*; Health Status Indicators ; Humans ; Politics ; Population Health ; Social Determinants of Health

A culture of health can be seen as a social norm that values health as the nation's priority or as an appeal to improve the social determinants of health. Better population health will require changing social and economic policies. Effective changes are unlikely unless health advocates can leverage a framework broader than health to mobilize political action in collaboration with non-health sector advocates. We suggest that human rights-the dominant international source of norms for government responsibilities-provides this broader framework. Human rights, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enforceable treaties, require governments to assure their populations nondiscriminatory access to food, water, education, work, social security, and a standard of living adequate for health and well-being. The policies needed to realize human rights also improve population health, well-being, and equity. Aspirations for human rights are strong enough to endure beyond inevitable setbacks to specific causes.
(Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.)

Keywords: Culture of Health; Determinants Of Health; Health Policy; Human Rights; Public Health

Date Created: 20161112 Date Completed: 20180312 Latest Revision: 20180405

20240628

10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0700

27834239