%0 Journal Article
%T Spiritual well-being in the 21st century: it¡¯s time to review the current WHO¡¯s health definition?
%A Francesco Chirico
%J Journal of Health and Social Sciences
%P 11-16
%@ 2499-5886
%D 3
%R 10.19204/2016/sprt2
%X Over the years, some critics argue that the dimension of spiritual well-being was missing from the
World Health Organization¡¯s (WHO) definition of health. Nevertheless, although the WHO¡¯s
definition has been criticized over the past 60 years, it has never been adapted. Spiritual well-being
should not be confused with psychological well-being. Moreover, spirituality, personal beliefs and
religiousness are not synonymous. Spirituality has received much interest in health care services;
it can improve strategies for managing stress and can positively influence immune, cardiovascular
(heart and blood vessels), hormonal, and nervous systems. For this reason, it may be implicated in
a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, and I believe it¡¯s time to review the WHO¡¯s
health definition, adding to it the ¡®spiritual well-being¡¯ dimension
%K spirituality
%K global health
%K holistic health
%K religion
%K spiritual therapies
%U http://journalhss.com/wp-content/uploads/JHHS1111-16.pdf