WELLBEING STATEMENT FOR LIMERICK PPN*
*From Limerick PPN Constitution
Collective purpose
Limerick PPN and all its members collectively aim to improve quality of life and wellbeing of all citizens and communities in Limerick. Limerick PPN is committed to supporting Healthy Ireland, the national framework for improved health and wellbeing and understands health and its determinants in terms of this national policy.
Health
Health is much more than an absence of disease or disability, and individual health, and that of the population of the city and county of Limerick, affects the quality of everyone’s lived experience. Health is an essential resource for everyday life, a public good, and an asset for health and human development.
Wellbeing
Wellbeing is an integral part of this definition of health. It reflects the quality of life and the various factors which can influence it over the course of a person’s life. Wellbeing also reflects the concept of positive mental health, in which a person can realise his or her own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and be able to make a contribution to his or her community. Consideration of health and wellbeing requires a shift in focus from what can go wrong in people’s lives, to focusing on what makes their lives go well.
Social Determinants of Health
Limerick PPN fully endorses the social determinants approach to health. The social determinants of health are the range of factors that impact upon health and wellbeing. These include the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age. These factors, illustrated in the graphic below are not usually the direct causes of illness but are described as “the causes of the causes”. This approach to health means focusing on the social, physical and economic environment rather than simply on people’s individual behaviours.
