-113- “CHAPTER 5 HEALTH STATUS: }. INTRODUCTION A health delivery system acts in concert with many elements of - an individual's and a comminity’s environment to effect the goal — of enhancing health and eradicating sickness. Limited resources are available to expend upon a health system in any nation, but areas such as the TTPI which are in the midst of political and financial transition, are particularly cagnizant of the need to limit expenditures while maintaining maximal health within the population. In order to effectively balance cost with benefit, it is necessary for any plan to begin by assessing the state of health within a community and by assessing the inajor threats to health within that same community. It is this assessment which the Health Status Section of the Trust Territory Health Plan will attempt to perform. "Health" is defined by the World Health Organization as ". . . a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This 7s a comprehensive definition which represents the ultimate goal of the health system as it interacts with the individual's and community's environment to promote well being. eT TTTET The definition