Since 1948, the World Health Organisation has defined good health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’. ‘Wellbeing’ as an idea is pretty straightforward.

If you’re happy and healthy then you’re most of the way to having a positive sense of ‘wellbeing’. If you’re sick, or injured, or persistently unhappy, then your level of ‘wellbeing’ is low.

The general health and wellbeing of the population is largely driven by what are often referred to by professionals as ‘the social determinants of health’.

These are the everyday factors that either promote or reduce our good health. These factors can be categorised in many different ways, but one way is:

Physical Health • Mental Health • Parenting • Education • Income • Work • Social Status • Physical Environment • Quality of Life

These factors act on each other in
complex ways that can dramatically affect an individual’s, a community’s or a whole country’s chances of achieving health and wellbeing.