Salutogenesis

Salutogenesis is the reverse process to pathogenesis, the process of disease, illness generation, and breakdown of function. Medicine teaches and organizes its activities from research to reimbursement on pathogenesis. The new healthcare system must do the same for salutogenesis.

Antonovsky's concept of salutogenesis was described primarily as a psychological construct and a stress-buffering resource, cohering to what he called the sense of coherence (SOC). SOC allowed the person to maintain and move toward health even in the midst of trauma and change. In today's terms it might be defined as a “resilience” factor.

We believe, however, that the term salutogenesis is better used in a broader, more holistic context to apply to the general process of healing in all dimensions of a person—body, mind, social, and spirit. From this context, our definition of healing is “the processes of recovery, repair, renewal, and reintegration that contribute to a whole person's (physical, mental, social, and spiritual) health and well-being.” Defined in this way, healing processes are preventive (help retain health and build resilience), restorative (accelerate and facilitate recovery), and palliative (maximize function and well-being) even when recovery and cure are not possible. The concept also goes beyond the original psychological construct to form the foundation for a model of medical care built on health creation and not only the mitigation of disease.

Jonas WB, Chez RA, Smith K, Sakallaris B. Salutogenesis: the defining concept for a new healthcare system. Glob Adv Health Med. 2014 May;3(3):82-91.