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International Journal of
Medical and Health Research
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VOL. 12, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Health promotion and holistic health management: An integrative framework
Authors
Lung-Tan Lu
Abstract
Global public health is confronted by interconnected twenty first century burdens: non communicable diseases (NCDs), rising mental health morbidity, population ageing, persistent health inequities, planetary environmental degradation, and the limits of hospital centred biomedical care. Traditional biomedical and disease prevention paradigms prioritise diagnosis, risk factor screening and individual behavioural advice, yet insufficiently account for reciprocal interactions between physical, psychological, existential spiritual, social, structural and institutional drivers of population well being. This narrative theoretical review reconstructs an integrative conceptual framework for holistic health management grounded in landmark international health promotion documents, biopsychosocial medical theory, social determinants of health scholarship, and peer reviewed holistic well being literature (Lu, 2026). Drawing upon documentary synthesis of World Health Organization (WHO) charters and declarations, alongside seminal journal articles, monographs and official population health reports, this paper analyses the historical evolution of health promotion thinking from narrow disease control toward multi layered health governance. A four dimensional holistic health construct is elaborated, comprising physical, psychological, spiritual existential, and social relational domains. Each domain is interdependent, operating through recursive feedback loops mediated by individual lifestyles, social support processes, built and socioeconomic environments, and public policy regimes. This review explicitly rejects the widespread misinterpretation of the Lalonde Report’s conceptual four domain health field model as fixed universal percentage weightings for heredity, healthcare, environment and lifestyle. Instead, health determinants are analysed along three analytical axes: level of action, modifiability, and policy leverage. A three tier governance architecture is presented spanning individual capability building, organisational community enabling environments, and cross sectoral public policy intervention. Context specific practical implications are discussed for implementation within Taiwan. The integrated model unites holistic well being perspectives, health determinant science and multilevel governance into a single coherent framework. This work reinforces that contemporary health promotion is not an optional add on to clinical healthcare services, but a person centred, system wide management practice re embedding health within everyday lived experience, social relationships and public institutional design.
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Pages:95-106
How to cite this article:
Lung-Tan Lu "Health promotion and holistic health management: An integrative framework". International Journal of Medical and Health Research, Vol 12, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 95-106

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