Health and Well-Being: Distinct and Intertwined Concepts.

Abstract

The concepts of health and well-being are deeply intertwined and interdependent. Situating both health and well-being within a unified framework is important to ensure their inclusion in the full spectrum of health research and to achieve the crucial task of building a body of basic, translational, and clinical studies to guide the implementation of whole-person health care. This commentary proposes such a framework where an individual's own assessment of their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being complements objective measures of their physical and psychological function and where social, environmental, economic, educational, and vocational well-being are located within positive determinants of health.