Health as a social phenomenon

The article analyzes the main approaches and features of defining health as a social phenomenon. The author notes that despite the stable discourse on health as a social phenomenon, the most common justification is its definition through the characteristics of social factors of influence. However, it is necessary to take into account other significant characteristics. In this regard, the work proposes an analysis of health as a social phenomenon through such significant aspects as: 1) health is a product of social development, and the definition of health reflects the features of the worldview and the level of development of societies at each of the historical stages; 2) health as a social phenomenon is distinguished by dynamism, which is due to its relationship with the life of an individual, group, society as a whole; 3) the essence of health as a social phenomenon is manifested in its assessment as a socially significant indicator of the development of society, group, individual; 4) health, acting as a part of social reality, is a social construct; 5) analyzing the construction of the social phenomenon of health on the basis of these essential features of the social process, we can define it as a purposeful activity.