About Meikirch Model

Component 1: Demands of Life: Each living creature has to fulfill the demands life puts on him or her. In man these demands include biological, psychosocial and environmental shares.
The biological demands include access to clean water and adequate amounts of nutrition. In addition appropriate hygiene and protection from cold, wetness and natural catastrophes are needed.

Family schooling and work conditions are important influences: The term psychosocial demands summarizes all influences on the relationship of individuals to their social settings. These start with the mother child relationship and include the family in which a child grows up, the schools, the work place, the partnerships and the leisure activities.
The environmental demands include among others the quality of drinking water, air pollution, environmental poisons, pests and natural catastrophes.

Resources needed to respond to the demands of life: In order to fulfill the demands of life, every human disposes of two types of resources: a biologically given potential and a personally acquired potential. In the Meikirch model resources are called potentials, because they are not only important in the present, but must be available also in the future. This implies that maintenance and further evolution of the resources must be viewed also as an investment into the future.

Component 2: Biologically given potential: At the time of birth the biologically given potential is a gift of nature that is combined with the responsibility to take good care of it. Initially this responsibility lies with the parents. With time more and more of this responsibility goes over to the individual. Expressions of this responsibility are among others a balanced nutrition, hygiene, vaccinations, life-long learning, appropriate physical activity, a healthy lifestyle, and avoidance of smoking, alcohol and drugs.

With progressing age the potential decreases: During the course of the life the biologically given potential decreases. Diseases, physical handicaps and adverse environmental conditions may reduce it further. This does not imply that such a human being is diseased. Other components may compensate in part the decrease of the potential.

When other components of the model, i.e. the personally acquired potential, the social and environmental determinants, enable a person with a reduced biologically given potential to respond satisfactorily to the demands of life, health will ensue. Persons with paraplegia are impressive examples: Many who achieve independence and become employed tell that they are healthy.

Component 3: Personally acquired potential: The personally acquired potential is a particularity of the Meikirch model. It implies that every human being may evolve his or her personality and must assume responsibility for her or his contribution to this evolution. A well-developed personally acquired potential is quite supportive for health.

Every human being is responsible for:

  • how she or he handles the biologically given potential.
  • how he or she develops his or her personally acquired potential.
  • how much she or he invests into the future of the two potentials.
  • how she or he responds to the demands of life.
  • how he or she cultivates the relationship to other human beings.
  • how she or he participates with the life of the society.
  • how he or she deals with the natural environment.

he personally acquired potential is promoted in addition, when an individual pursues a purpose in life, cultivates positive feelings, practices mindfulness meditation, seeks spirituality, etc.

Compensation of biological limitations: Persons who have to live with a reduced biologically given potential may compensate their defects to a large part by further developing their personally acquired potential. With this many people achieve to respond satisfactorily to their demands of life and – in the spirit of the Meikirch model – to be healthy.

Component 4: Social determinants: The social determinants include the immediate social surroundings of each individual as well as the larger social context. They relate to each person from her or his fertilized oocyte to death.

Good human relationships promote health: The social context of a person encompasses the family, friends, acquaintances, schools, employers, including political institutions. Good lively personal relationships in family and social settings promote health. In contrast, burdensome relationships may compromise health. Whoever damages human relationships, exacerbates the development of the personally acquired potential of affected persons including his own.

Anxiety, greed and abuse of power may lead to disease.: In important fraction of the social framework is determined by laws and by their implementation. Laws are important not only for the health care system, but also in the fields of education, labor, business, and traffic.
A dynamic social participation in family, neighborhood, and community promotes health. Dishonesty, anxiety, greed, and abuse of power may overexert the personally acquired potential not only of coworkers but also of managers.

Society and individuals share mutual responsibility: Although the Meikirch model postulates that the society carries responsibility for health of individuals, each individual must also contribute his or her part for a proper functioning of the society.

Component 5: Environmental determinants: The environmental determinants include the whole biosphere, i.e. in particular the environment we need for nutrition and recreation. In addition they include the quality of water, air, soil, or e.g. in Switzerland a natural deficiency of iodine and fluorine.

Borreliosis and malaria, i.e. diseases that are transmitted from animals to man are also considered to be related to environmental determinants. Similarly, overuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry may lead to antibiotic resistance in man.

Environmental Protection is Health protection: According to the Meikirch model environmental protection is essential for health. Implementation of e.g. measures for good quality of natural waters and for reduced pollution by noise and exhaust gases reduce negative consequences for health.
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