Mathpati Mahesh Madhav, Payyappallimana Unnikrishnan, Shankar Darshan, Porter John Dh
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom; The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), 74/2, Jarakabande Kaval, Post Attur via Yelahanka, Bengaluru, 560064, India.
The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), 74/2, Jarakabande Kaval, Post Attur via Yelahanka, Bengaluru, 560064, India.
J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2022 Jan-Mar;13(1):100354. doi: 10.1016/j.jaim.2020.09.003. Epub 2020 Sep 21.
The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems globally. The current international biomedical focus for disease control and policies fails to include the resource of a population's capacity to be self-reliant in its health care practices. The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda ('the knowledge of life') and Local Health Traditions (LHTs) in India understand that health is about , 'being rooted within'; a concept that includes the relationship and balance between the individual, their families, communities and the environment in creating and maintaining their own health. This 'population self-reliance in health' is the focus of the 4th tier in the health system which honours and respects an individual's capacity for self-care and their inherent responsibility to the health system and its values. It encourages the inclusion of this knowledge in the creation of health systems and in the policies that direct them. Research and practice into the 4th tier will provide health systems and policy information into how communities are managing the COVID-19 epidemic. These insights will help in the creation of future health systems that are better aligned to the 'self-reliance in health' of individuals and their communities.
新冠疫情正使全球卫生系统不堪重负。当前国际上疾病控制和政策的生物医学重点未将民众在医疗实践中自力更生的能力这一资源纳入其中。印度阿育吠陀（“生命的知识”）和当地健康传统（LHTs）的古老智慧认为，健康关乎“扎根于内在”；这一概念包括个人、其家庭、社区与环境在创造和维持自身健康方面的关系及平衡。这种“民众在健康方面的自力更生”是卫生系统第四层级的重点，该层级尊重个人的自我护理能力及其对卫生系统及其价值观的固有责任。它鼓励将这一知识纳入卫生系统的创建以及指导卫生系统的政策之中。对第四层级的研究与实践将为卫生系统和政策提供有关社区如何应对新冠疫情的信息。这些见解将有助于创建未来更符合个人及其社区“健康方面自力更生”的卫生系统。
