Abstract :
Health is complete physical, mental, social, spirit and ecological well being ; these health
determinants are interactive and dynamic and make health multi causal.
But the prevailing medical science paradigm is based on biological model only. According to
this model health is mono causal .This concept of health has led to disease-oriented approach,
emphasis on technical interventions, limitation of the role of cure to experts who possess the
technical skill, dominating roles of the medical professions and institutions.
Although according to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is a state of
complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity (OMS, 2001) but many indigenous peoples and also the new idea in WHO refer to
a holistic view of the world; thus, they define health in terms of complete wellbeing, which
includes the spiritual dimension .
In other words, by incorporating several paradigms based on indigenous perspectives,
health finds expression through the dynamic relationships and equilibrium among the
inseparable components of the individual (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) and the
collective (ecological, political, economic, cultural, social and, once again, spiritual). This holistic
conception of health encompasses the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being
of an individual and his or her social community under conditions of equity. Spiritual beliefs
and spiritual practices may impact both on a person’s response to a certain disease state and
the outcome of a disease process. Evidently, spiritual factors like adaptation and acceptance
have a positive impact on the course of cancers, substance abuse disorders and other diseases,
whereas anxiety and indifferentism are obviously negative factors in coping with most of the diseases. Religion is an important influence on human life and has influenced many political
decisions.Religion also plays a role in the shaping of individuals’ lives. Religious and spiritual
beliefs are important aids in coping with serious diseases in a positive way, often remaining
the central point of reflection in patients when all biomedical treatments are no longer
effective in terminal disease. This aspect of health is not in practice any more by health personnel, mostly because of lack
of knowledge and some time lack of attitude, so it is necessary to have collaboration with
experts in religious domain for responding the patient needs in this very important and
neglected aspect of health.
