Disease

Failure of the adaptive mechanism of an organism to counteract adequately, normally, or appropriately the stimuli and stresses to which it is subject, resulting in a disturbance in the function or structure of some part of the organism. This definition emphasizes that disease has many factors and may be prevented or treated by changing these factors. Disease is, in fact, a very elusive concept to define, being determined largely by social acceptance. Thus, criminal behavior, alcoholism, and drug dependence tend now to be seen as diseases, whereas in the past they were considered to be moral or legal problems. [Source: Catholic health Ministry in Transition: A Handbook for Responsible Leadership (Silver Spring, MD: National Coalition on Catholic Healthcare Ministry, 1995).] One’s definition of disease, however, does not necessarily have to entail such normative implications. Definitions of disease vary depending on how one defines health. Just how normative the concepts of disease and health should be is the subject of much debate. [See: World Health Organization. Basic documents. 39th ed. (Geneva: WHO, 1992); Daniels, N., Just Healthcare (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985); Ashley, B. and K. O’Rourke, Healthcare Ethics: A Theological Analysis (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1997), 22-31; Boorse, C., "On the Distinction between Disease and Illness," in Concepts of Health and Disease: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1981).]

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