science

Health 21

Health 21 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Health 21 rather than just read about it. In short: Health 21 or Health21 is the name given to the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region policy framework derived from the "health-for-all policy for the twenty-first century" passed by the World Health Assembly in 1998. The framework was called "Health 21" not only because it dealt with health in the 21st century, but also because it laid out 21 "targets" for improving the health of Europeans.

Key takeaways

Health 21 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Health 21 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Health 21 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Health 21 or Health21 is the name given to the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region policy framework derived from the "health-for-all policy for the twenty-first century" passed by the World Health Assembly in 1998. The framework was called "Health 21" not only because it dealt with health in the 21st century, but also because it laid out 21 "targets" for improving the health of Europeans.

Targets The Health 21 targets were:

"Solidarity for health in the European Region," or "closing the health gap between countries" "Equity in health," or "closing the health gap within countries" "Healthy start in life," for example "policies should... create a supportive family, with wanted children and good parenthood capacity" "Health of young people," that is, "young people in the region should be healthier and better able to fulfil their roles in society" "Healthy aging" as reflected in increases in life expectancy, disability-free life expectancy, and the proportion of older people who are healthy and at home "Improving mental health" "Reducing communicable diseases" "Reducing non-communicable diseases" "Reducing injury from violence and accidents" "A healthy and safe physical environment" "Healthier living" such as "healthier behaviour in such fields as nutrition, physical activity and sexuality" and "increase in the availability, affordability and accessibility of safe and healthy food" "Reducing harm from alcohol, drugs and tobacco" "Settings for health," specifically, "people in the region should have greater opportunities to live in healthy physical and social environments at home, at school, at the workplace and in the local community" "Multisectoral responsibility for health" "An integrated health sector" with "better access to family- and community-oriented primary health care, supported by a flexible and responsive hospital system" "Managing for quality of care" by focusing on outcomes "Funding health services and allocating resources," calling for "sustainable financing and resource allocation mechanisms for health care systems based on the principles of equal access, cost–effectiveness, solidarity, and optimum quality" "Developing human resources for health" to ensure that health professionals and others "have acquired appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills to protect and promote health" "Research and knowledge for health": "health research, information and communication systems" should "better support the acquisition, effective utilization, and dissemination of knowledge" "Mobilizing partners for health," including governments, professionals, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and individual citizens "Policies and strategies for health for all" at "country, regional and local levels"

See also Health policy Health promotion Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion Bangkok Charter Jakarta Declaration Primary health care Health for all Alma Ata Declaration Public health Healthy city

References

Further reading Department of Health (1999) Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation. London: DoH. WHO (1999) Reducing inequalities in health. Copenhagen: WHO.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Health 21

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Health 21 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Health 21 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Health 21 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Health 21

In research: Health 21 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Health 21 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Health 21 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics European medical and health organizations, Health policy, World Health Organization, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Health 21 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Health 21 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Health 21 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Health 21 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Health 21 in simple terms?

Why does Health 21 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Health 21?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Health 21.