PAHO - TOWARDS LIFE-KNOWLEDGE

Table of Contents

If the word compassion means to suffer with others, why does the word passion have an opposite meaning?
Why do we say “take care” rather “give care” in our salutations?
Why is more emphasis placed on end-of-life care rather than beginning-of-life care?
Isn’t health promotion and disease prevention better than curative and palliative management?
Given these distortions of etymology in language and focus of care, how can this be remedied to midwife a coherent, balanced, harmonious, sustainable and integrated whole life-centered value system?
Has the WHO or PAHO any guidelines that these recommendations can build on and can you be specific with examples?
Can you give me some suggestions for a title that reflects this?
Can you create an image without words reflecting this?

Health is a component of and a key resource for human development. It results from a cumulative process of continuous interaction between exposures and experiences, which have an impact at both the individual and population levels, not only episodically but over time, and with trans-generational effects (1). The increase in human life expectancy by approximately 30 years over the last century provides a compelling reason to expand health-related goals beyond simple survival (2, 3).

In the Region of the Americas, the effort to increase life expectancy has been successful; however, the increase in healthy life expectancy has not kept pace. On average, 8 of every 10 people who are born in the Region will live beyond age 60, and more than 4 in 10 will live past 80 (4). One-quarter of those who live past 80 will live with poor health (4). According to estimates, people in the Region live on average 9 years with functional limitations or disability (5). An increased lifespan, but with longer periods of illness and dependence on care provided by others, is a great burden for States, societies, and families, and a significant challenge for public health.