Table A1.

Listing of the aspects of culture and context found in the literature review as addressed in the checklist, per dimension of ‘Positive Health’.

Dimensions	Findings in the Literature	Aspects of Culture and Context Addressed in Checklist
Bodily functions	The perception of bodily functions in Southeast Asia is comprehensive; physical health is conceptualized as the harmony and unity of mind, body, and soul [28]. As Ravindran et al. (2012) explain, “upset in body balance is the common way to look at disease; it refers to the belief that a healthy body is in a state of balance. When the body gets out of balance, illness results” [28]. A number of factors can disturb this balance, such as certain foods, medications, herbs, or strong emotions. Therefore, what you eat or emotionally feel can directly influence your organs and your bodily functioning [28,29].	Perception of own body
		Physical fitness (cultural and individual exercise options) and/or somatic complaints
		Coping with stress and stigmatisation of illnesses
Mental well-being	In Southeast Asia, emotional expression is commonly considered to be personal weakness; this can contribute to stigmatization of mental illness [30]. This stigma is also grounded in the rigidity of restraint societies in Southeast Asia, in which the predominant practice of Buddhism considers mental illness to be suffering caused by one’s past misdeeds [31]. Moreover, in Southeast Asia, great numbers of people are exposed to extreme stressors due to humanitarian crises related mainly to natural disasters [44]. However, people with adaptive strategies for coping with extreme stressors are less likely to experience mental health problems [33]. Antonovsky (1984) described this as a ‘sense of coherence’ [32]. A sense of coherence is subject, among others, to the manageability and meaningfulness of a difficult situation. Manageability depends on the degree to which someone feels that resources, both formal (healthcare services) and informal (relatives and friends), are at their disposal. The second component, meaningfulness, is described below.	Perceptions of health: individual differences
		Local health traditions identified
		Cultural influences on diet identified
		Cultural influences on healthy living
		Myths and facts regarding health promotion
		Stigmatisation of mental health main issues identified
		Psychological stress sources identified
		Feeling supported: role of peers, working together on health
		Feeling of belonging: social cohesion, part of community
		Barriers to access health information
		Availability of/barriers to informal resources: relatives/friends
		Access to resources: barriers to access healthcare and medicines
Meaningfulness	In different cultural societies, factors that give life meaning are often found in spiritual and religious beliefs [32]. Most countries in Southeast Asia are multicultural with many minority groups, resulting in a variety of religions [30]; the most commonly practiced religion is Buddhism, whose basic principles are often familiar to people of other religions.	Religious and spiritual beliefs
Participation	Participation depends on a balance between opportunities and limitations [14]. Associated with balance is the ability to participate and play a role in ordinary family and community activities [33]. Southeast Asian countries often have a high inter-generational co-residence, where children take care of their parents [27]. The Southeast Asian elderly participate mainly by giving advice to family and community members, mainly on health-related issues. Their accumulated life wisdom and spiritual capacities make this advice highly appreciated [33].	Family structure, role of elders, in-laws, siblings
		Being able to participate and having a role in usual community activities
		Being able to participate and having a role in ordinary family activities (bringing in money, food, cooking, cleaning)
Daily functioning	Contributing to a healthy feeling is the ability to be functional at physical, social, and economic levels. Being able to carry out daily responsibilities and activities enables a person to manage his/her life with some degree of independence [14]. Especially for Southeast Asian people, this has a positive effect on one’s perception of health [33,45]. A study by Nilsson et al. (2005) indicated ‘having the strength and physical ability to work’ is essential to be functional in daily life [33]. Mentioned as a determiner of this is having good health, which in turn is related to food. Therefore, the availability of sufficient and healthy food is considered essential for everyday functionality [33].	Availability of/barriers to healthy food
		Current/past work related activities
Quality of life	The WHO (1993) defines quality of life (QoL) as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns” [45]. The WHO explicitly identifies culture as one of the important factors influencing QoL. Interpretations and expectations regarding QoL are likely to vary during a person’s lifetime and depend on their generation [33]; health, illness, or disability can also have an effect. According to Huber, one aspect of QoL is happiness. Uschida et al. (2004) indicated that substantial variations exist in the cultural meaning of happiness: personal achievement is its main determiner in the cultures of Europe and North America, whereas in Southeast Asia, it is defined mainly in terms of interpersonal connectedness [34,35].	Social network discussed, role of social structures in health, e.g., governmental and non-governmental organisations