Building resilience in health systems

Abstract

The term “resilience” is increasingly being used in various disciplines, including ecology, psychology, sociology and economics, and has been applied to all living beings. The word originates from its Latin root resilire referring to the ability to rise again suggesting that it is closely connected with the verb to recover. When applied to humans, the term is associated with individuals, communities or nations, who are actually or potentially exposed to harm and who adopt measures to withstand or counteract such harm.