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VOL. 7, ISSUE 4 (2025)
Holistic health concept and health promotion movement: From the 20th to the 21st century
Authors
Dr. Lung Tan Lu
Abstract
This paper traces the historical evolution of
the holistic health concept and the global health promotion movement from
antiquity to the digital age. Beginning with the humoral balance theories of
Hippocrates and the philosophical synthesis of Greek and medieval traditions,
it examines how the Enlightenment’s mechanistic medicine and Cartesian dualism
fragmented the human being into body and mind. The analysis then follows the
twentieth-century reconstitution of holism through the World Health Organization’s
1948 definition of health, Engel’s biopsychosocial model, the rise of
behavioral and mind–body medicine, and the institutionalization of health
promotion in the Ottawa Charter of 1986. Drawing on classical sources and
contemporary research, the paper argues that holistic health has progressively
transformed from a metaphysical ideal into a scientifically grounded and
policy-embedded paradigm that integrates biological, psychological, social, and
environmental determinants of well-being. The discussion also explores recent
developments such as digital health technologies, ecological and planetary
health frameworks, and the continuing ethical and cultural challenges of
implementing holistic approaches in diverse societies. By situating these
transformations within the intellectual history of medicine, the paper
concludes that holistic health represents not a departure from scientific
rationality but its humanistic fulfillment—a dynamic equilibrium between
person, community, and environment that defines the next frontier of health
thought and practice.
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Pages:99-105
How to cite this article:
Dr. Lung Tan Lu "Holistic health concept and health promotion movement: From the 20th to the 21st century". International Journal of Nursing and Health Research, Vol 7, Issue 4, 2025, Pages 99-105
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