MEMO #1 DEFINITIONS/FRAMEWORKS OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Transportation & Health
Memo #1 Definitions/frameworks of Health and Wellness

Based on class discussion and readings, develop your own working definition of health and wellness. Also consider the various health frameworks presented in class (or others) and how they can guide us in including health considerations within transportation. You can expand upon or contract those ideas already presented, but you must be able to articulate and defend your position. This definition will be used to guide your thinking in the subsequent sections. As we wrap up this section, I would like you to reflect on this and write a short essay that addresses the following:
� What are the key concepts that you believe should be included/considered into a working
definition of health and how does this agree or differ from others (from the readings)?
� How does a broader and more inclusive definition of health and well-being help and/or hinder
our move to integrate health into transportation practice?
� How does your definition fit with the various theories of health: socio-economic model, the
precautionary principle, sustainable production, a life course approach or others?
� Make a (brief) case for why health and wellness are important to the transportation field.
� Conclude your essay by giving some insight to where you think the most fruitful areas in
transportation are for the integration of health concepts and how your definition and
framework can contribute.

The readings for the MEMO:

REGARDING THE READINGS THERE ARE COUPLE PAGES FOR SOME READINGS NEEDED ONLY THE DESCRIPTION BELOW GUIDES YOU TO WHAT PAGES NEED TO BE READ.
1. Definitions of health from World Health Organization, Alliance Institute for Integrative Medicine, National Wellness Institute, Arizona State University, Webster�s Dictionary, University of Buffalo, Dorland�s Medical Dictionary, and others.
2. Arah, O. 2009. On the relationship between individual and population health, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. 12:235�244.

How does transportation influence health?
3. American Public Health Association. At the Intersection of Public Health and Transportation: Promoting Healthy Transportation Policy, Washington, DC
4. Bell, J and Cohen, L. 2010. Chapter 1 The Health Effects of Transportation Policy in Healthy, Equitable Transportation Policy: Recommendations and Research(ed. Shireen Malekafzali), Policy Link, The Prevention Institute, and Convergence Partnership: Oakland, CA.

What can be done to improve it?
5. Kent, J and Thompson, S. 2014. The three domains of urban planning for health and well-being,Journal of Planning Literature, 29(3): 239-256.
6. Wikler, D. 2002. Personal and social responsibility for health, Ethics and International Affairs16(2), p47-55.

Theories and Frameworks
7. Mary E. Northridge, Elliot D. Sclar and Padmini Biswas. 2003. Sorting out the connections between the built environment and health: A conceptual framework for navigating pathways and planning healthy cities, Journal of Urban Health, Volume 80, Number 4 / December 2003, pp: 556-568.
8. Ben-Shlomo Y, Kuh D. A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology: conceptual models, empirical challenges, and interdisciplinary perspectives.Int J Epidemiol. 2002;31:285�293.
9. Kriebel D, Tickner J, Epstein P, et al. The precautionary principle in environmental health. Environ Health Perspect.2001;109:871�876.