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How socioeconomic factors affect health
How socioeconomic factors affect health
Explain different definitions of health
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For the first part of the course work I will be explaining the definitions of health and well-being as well as the different aspects of them.
Health:
There are many different ways in which someone can explain the definition of health and can sometimes get confused on what health means. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) they believe that “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This definition is correct because in today’s society if you are physically, mentally and socially stable you are classified as being healthy this definition is also good because it is not just about having a lack of disease or illness. However I personally do not agree with this definition of health because it automatically excludes a high number of people and classifies them as “not healthy”. This statement refers to disabled people as not healthy when many
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This has been useful because it has helped cure many diseases in the past. The biomedical model of health mainly focuses on purely biological factors which affect a person’s health such as microscopic diseases like cancer. The biomedical model of illness and healing focuses on purely biological factors which professionals tend to analyse and look for biophysical or genetic malfunctions with someone.
Some of the strengths of using the biomedical model are that it is good with dealing diagnosing short-term illnesses such as chest infections. This means that any short-term illnesses can usually be dealt with and not be too serious to be concerned about. The biomedical model can also help patients feel more secure and can build trust between the patient and the doctor. The biomedical model has been effective in the process of decreasing the number of deaths from infectious diseases such as
The advancement in health care and biomedical technology has made biomedical model that focuses just on curing the disease as the dominant approach. It excludes emotional, social, psychological and behavioral aspects of illness. However with increase in chronic disease and need for long term care, the healthcare delivery systems are changing, making it more patient centric. The health practices are gradually focusing on design of treatment plans based on patents narratives.
Health is described as “the general condition of the body or mind, especially in terms of the presence or absence of illness or impairments.” Health can also be defined as “the overall condition of something in terms of soundness, vitality and proper functioning” (Oxford, 263). From the definitions of health given, one can either be in good health or in unhealthy.
The different models to health all use different principles. The biomedical model concentrates on the physical and biological aspect of a disease. Doctors and health professionals practice this model. This model is associated with the diagnosis, treatment and cure of the disease. This model evolves as times goes
When a person is sick, a doctor first needs to diagnose the symptoms to be able to understand the causes of the illness and adequately treat, manage or eradicate the disease. For instance, a doctor cannot arrive at a diagnosis of a patient and say to the patient " you have diabetes" without analyzing the symptoms and explaining how a disease developed, and what lifestyle habits favor the development of its presence.
Following Baum’s reasoning, the Biomedical Model is centred upon the treatment of health problems. For example if a person has a disease or falls ill the Biomedical Model’s focus is towards the body’s physical processes, which includes biochemical, pathological and physiological (Fanany, 2012). This diagnostic approach involves firstly, locating the cause of the illness (the pathogen), and secondly, treating the illness accordingly using Westernised medical interventions (such as drugs or surgery).
She researched and developed her concept by looking at health in different countries/cultures. The first model, 'Mechanistic Model', is a concept identifying the body as a machine and was applied to the Western society. The 'Bio Medical Model' is also linked with the mechanistic model, where illness is seen as a nuisance and causes the 'machine' to break down and even stop working completely. Through Helman's study we can see that although we know how we catch a cold i.e. germs, lay perceptions still exist despite the Bio Medical model. Helman's study demonstrates that variations of health still exist within our society.
This also discusses health in relation to social institutions, for example family, employment and school. However, health can be defined in a number of ways, such as negative and positive. The negative is where health is perceived to be the absence of disease or abnormalities in the body. This is similar to the positive, where health focuses on the presence of certain attributes, rather than the absence of them. This is different from the World Health Organisation (WHO 2008) where health requires a person to be completely physically, mentally and socially well, but not just in the absence of disease and illness.
It is fairly difficult to define health as there are no agreements between scholars. This is why many sociologists focus their research on the different issues and problems of ill health.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) came up with the most commonly used definition for health, which has not changed for over 60 years. They say that it is ‘’a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’’ (WHO, 1948), therefore meaning there are many more things to consider with health other than just death rates.
What does it mean to be healthy? Health is a state of complete physical , mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease, illness or infirmity. It is important to distinguish between disease and health. Disease is the prognosis of a particular disorder with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms. On the other hand, illness is the existence of disease
Health can generally mean different things for people across the globe or even within one community. For some, as long as they do not have a serious illness they consider themselves healthy. For others it can specifically mean the combination of diet and exercise. The most common definition of health is given by World Health Organization WHO
Physical health involves both the internal and external aspects of the human body. Some of the external attributes include size and shape, fitness, and ability to perform activities of daily living, also referred to as ADL’s. Internal components are acuteness of the senses, general functions and the ability to heal.
Health is described as physical and mental well-being and freedom from disease, pain or defect. However, such descriptions only superficially define the actual meaning of health. There may be many occasions when individuals are not necessarily ill or in pain but may be overweight, stressed or emotionally unstable. Health is a quality of life involving dynamic interaction and interdependence among the individual’s physical state, their mental and emotional reactions, and the social context in which the individual exists. There are many factors that influence your health, but three major components contribute to general well-being: Self-awareness, a balanced diet and, regular physical activity.
In order to understand what the definition of health is, the meaning of denotation must be understood. Denotation is the reference of a word; it is the formal definition of a word (Allan). The denotative meaning of health, according to Merriam-Webster is “the condition of being well or free from disease”. This denotative term is often used in a
Currently I am studying a BTEC course, in this course I have studied psychology, where I learned how the Human mind work. In my upcoming subjects “disease and infections “I will learn: how diseases are spread, how they can be prevented and how they can affect the human mind and body. I am really looking forward to studying this topic, as I understand how important it is to prevent diseases and