Discourse on wellbeing in research and practice

Authors

  • Vincent La Placa University of Greenwich
  • Allan McNaught
  • Anneyce Knight

Keywords:

wellbeing, definitional framework, holistic research, theoretical framework, policy development, well-being

Abstract

The aim of this article is to consider debates around the contested nature of concepts of wellbeing in health and social science research and practice, given that government policy discourse centres on the importance of wellbeing as a tool for making policy and evaluating outcomes. It draws attention to the work of McNaught (2011). He has developed a definitional framework of wellbeing, in which wellbeing is perceived to be a macro concept or area of study concerned with the objective and subjective assessment of wellbeing as a desirable human state. The framework broadens wellbeing to a range of different domains beyond individual subjectivity, which has been the traditional focus of concern, and extracts it from customary affiliations with health to incorporate the family, community and society as a whole. The framework reflects the conceptual complexity of ‘wellbeing’ and highlights its dependency upon a range of social, economic and environmental forces that provide the resources and the contexts for the generation and maintenance of wellbeing at all levels of society. The article argues that the framework provides a paradigm that facilitates further development and systemisation of research and knowledge in the field of wellbeing. Firstly, the framework has the capacity to bring some clarity, inclusiveness and holism to research and practice. Secondly, it is useful as a tool to enhance theoretical frameworks and to guide the design and development of both health and wellbeing interventions. Thirdly, it provides the philosophical underpinnings for wellbeing policy development.

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Author Biography

Vincent La Placa, University of Greenwich

Dr. Vincent La Placa is Senior Lecturer in Global Public Health at the University of Greenwich. His main interests are the impact of globalization on health, welfare and public policy; global research methods; the sociology of gender and sexuality and the impact of Thatcherism and Blairism (Blatcherism) on British Society.  He previously worked as a senior consultant for the Department of Health (DH), where he managed the qualitative strand of the “Healthy Foundations (HF) Life-stage Segmentation Model”, one of the largest pieces of qualitative research funded by DH. He also played a key role in assisting the HF team in providing training to healthcare professionals and planners in using the tools developed from the model. He was also a lead researcher on the Family Holiday Association (FHA) funded project, “Holidays for Families in Need: Policies and Practice in the UK”, which focused upon how social tourism could be encouraged on to the public policy agenda in the UK.

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Published

2013-03-07

Issue

Section

Articles

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