Students’ perceptions of the concept of health

Abstract

Thirty‐nine year 10 students and 51 tertiary students were asked to describe their understandings of the meaning of health and the influences on health and long life. Conceptual content analysis of students’ explanations of the meaning of health were categorized according to the dimensions of the who definition of health. Both secondary and tertiary students described health predominantly in physical terms. Tertiary students were more aware of the mental and social dimensions of health. Tertiary students used superordinate concepts such as well‐being and lifestyle, while secondary students predominantly mentioned specific health concepts such as food and exercise. Negative explanations went beyond the ‘illness model’ of health. When students were asked to explain influences on health and long life several new concepts about health emerged. These included heredity, luck, accidents, war, physical environment, social environment, and mental outlook, and together were categorized as ‘factors perceived beyond control’. Students attributed a range of meanings to the concept ‘lifestyle’. Implications of these findings in accepting responsibility for personal health decisions are discussed.