What is Salutogenesis and the Salutogenic Model?
1. Overview of the Topic – Summary:
From Wikipedia: Salutogenesis is a medical approach focusing on factors that support human health and well-being, rather than on factors that cause disease (pathogenesis). More specifically, the “salutogenic model” is concerned with the relationship between health, stress, and coping. The term was coined by Aaron Antonovsky, a professor of medical sociology.
“Antonovsky’s formulation was that the generalized resistance resources enabled individuals to make sense of and manage events. He argued that over time, in response to positive experiences provided by successful use of different resources, an individual would develop an attitude that was “in itself the essential tool for coping”.”[2]
2. What is the focus of this Topic?:
Antonovsky’s theories reject the “traditional medical-model dichotomy separating health and illness”. He described the relationship as a continuous variable, what he called the “health-ease versus dis-ease continuum”. [3]
“In his 1979 book, Health, Stress and Coping, Antonovsky described a variety of influences that led him to the question of how people survive, adapt, and overcome in the face of even the most punishing life-stress experiences.” [4]
From Wikipedia: Antonovsky’s formulation was that the generalized resistance resources enabled individuals to make sense of and manage events. He argued that over time, in response to positive experiences provided by successful use of different resources, an individual would develop an attitude that was “in itself the essential tool for coping”.
The word “salutogenesis” comes from the Latin salus = health and the Greek genesis = origin. [5]
3. Why it’s listed here – What is the relevance to Architectural Medicine?
A main focus of Architectural Medicine is health in the built environment, and this concept of Salutogenesis fits the description of this focus on wellness and well-being. While many fields of medicine appropriately focus their attention to illness, the idea of striving towards preventive health via Salutogenesis is a sound approach in today’s day and age.
The overall approach that Antonovsky developed, “how people manage stress and stay well (unlike pathogenesis which studies the causes of diseases)”[6] becomes an important topic with larger numbers of the population living in urban environments. The process of adapting to settings that are often stressful can be a helpful mechanism to achieving and maintaining wellness.
4. Common groups and individuals involved with this topic:
From Wikipedia: Salutogenesis is a term coined by Aaron Antonovsky, a professor of medical sociology. Aaron Antonovsky (19 December 1923 – 7 July 1994) was an Israeli American sociologist and academician whose work concerned the relationship between stress, health and well-being (salutogenesis).[6]
In 1972, he helped establish the medical school at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and held the Kunin-Lunenfeld Chair in Medical Sociology. During his twenty years in that Department, Antonovsky developed his theory of health and illness, which he termed salutogenesis. This model was described in his 1979 book, Health, Stress and Coping, followed by his 1987 work, Unraveling the Mystery of Health.