Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30604351›Full record

ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2019

A critical analysis of definitions of health as balance in a One Health perspective.

Henrik Lerner

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Ethical Challenges in Scientific Studies Within One Health.Current environmental health reports · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Health from a health promotion perspective: a concept analysis.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Infestation, histology, and molecular confirmation ofInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Henrik LernerDepartment of Health Care Sciences, Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, P.O. Box 11189, 100 61, Stockholm, Sweden. henrik.lerner@esh.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5531-817X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Definitions of health in terms of some kind of balance form a category of their own within the sphere of health definition. Such definitions have their roots in the beginnings of scientific medicine, and popular versions are common among lay people. It has even been claimed that balance is fundamental to health for all species. Several present-day definitions of health in terms of balance are presented here. Particular attention is given to the call for a definition of health applicable to both humans and animals within the One Health approach, involving human medicine, veterinary medicine and ecology. Definitions in terms of balance have been suggested but none has been thoroughly analysed with regard to its suitability. There are therefore three concerns in this paper. The first is to introduce versions of the category of balance, as a first step towards a nomenclature of health definitions. The second is to analyse the claim made recently that balance is a universal criterion of health in all species including humans. The third is to ascertain whether any of the versions discussed is suited to the One Health approach.

Indexed as

HealthHomeostasisTerminology as TopicAnimalsHealth StatusHumansCategorization of health definitionsHomeostasisHumoral theoryIngmar Pörn

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.