Understanding health and illness through the lenses of cure, healing, disease, and illness reveals the complexity of these concepts beyond mere biological definitions. The interplay between the biomedical and sociological perspectives provides a comprehensive view of health that acknowledges both the physiological and experiential aspects of being unwell. Cure and Disease: The Biomedical Perspective From a biomedical perspective, disease is defined as a pathological condition diagnosed based on objective clinical signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings. This model views health problems primarily as biological anomalies that need to be fixed. The goal of the biomedical approach is to diagnose the disease and apply appropriate medical interventions …show more content…
This model suggests that effective treatment must address all these dimensions to promote overall health. For example, treating depression might involve antidepressant medication (biological), cognitive-behavioral therapy (psychological), and social support groups (social). This comprehensive approach acknowledges that addressing the biological aspect alone is insufficient for achieving true healing (Engel, 1977). Consider a patient with chronic heart disease. The biomedical approach would focus on medication, surgery, and lifestyle changes to manage the condition. However, the biopsychosocial model would also consider the patient's mental health, providing counseling to manage stress and anxiety, and their social context, perhaps offering support groups to connect with others facing similar challenges. This holistic approach aims not only to manage the disease, but also to enhance the patient's quality of life and overall well-being. Social Determinants of …show more content…
For instance, public health initiatives that provide free or affordable healthcare, promote healthy lifestyles, and address environmental hazards can reduce the incidence of diseases and improve overall well-being. This approach recognizes that health is influenced by a broad range of factors beyond individual control, and that addressing these social determinants is essential for achieving true health and well-being. Integrating Biomedical and Sociological Perspectives To achieve a comprehensive understanding of health, it is essential to integrate both biomedical and sociological perspectives. While the biomedical model excels in diagnosing and treating specific diseases, it often overlooks the broader context of the patient's life. The sociological perspective, on the other hand, provides valuable insights into the patient's experience of illness and the social factors that influence health outcomes. For example, a patient with hypertension might receive medication to manage their blood pressure (biomedical approach), but to achieve true healing, it is also necessary to address stress management, dietary habits, and social support (sociological approach). By combining these perspectives, healthcare providers can offer more holistic care that addresses the full spectrum of factors influencing
The essay will describe the biopsychosocial model of health and its development including who developed the model, then it will look at the models separately which are the biomedical, psychological and sociological models. This essay will outline the effects that diabetes has on people in different ways in relation with the biopsychosocial model of health.
This includes the ‘new public health approach’. This expressive approach illustrates how ‘the multifaceted relationships between social, environmental, cultural, economic and political determinants affect health, as well as working towards an equality for a better health’ (Keleher & MacDougall, 2011). Likewise, this ‘new public health approach’ interrelates with other diverse approaches, but specifically with the ‘sociological approach’. These dimensions work hand-in-hand, in order to promote a positive lifestyle, by improving the factors in life individuals take for granted, such as an income, education and living and working conditions. A hypothetical example which exemplifies this, is if there were a middle-low class family, who worked long hours of the day for minimal pay due to their lack of education, and were unable to provide a great enough income for the education of their children. However, the government was able to provide the necessity of education for their children. In essence, this would relieve the family’s stress of not being able to provide the income for their child’s education, thus improving the mental health of the family, as well as the social health of the child being able to socialise and making friends in a comfortable, stable
In the past few decades, clinical treatment has moved on from biomedical approach to the biopsychosocial approach. Scientists now believe that health of an individual is not merely due to physiological conditions but may also depend on psychological and socio-cultural perspectives(Engel, 1977). The term health psychology was developed by the American Psychological Association to describe health and wellness issues that arise from psychological problems. Health psychology stems from Systems theory, which says that human events such as injury and illness exist within several interconnected systems, such as our peer relationships, childhood experiences, personality and other factors (Schwartz, 1982).
It is generally accepted within healthcare that to understand mental health we must adopt the biopsychosocial model. This model assumes that an interdependent relationship exists between biological, psychological and social factors which are involved in all aspects of mental health (Toates, 2010, p. 14). To be true to the model research must be holistic and not investigate the factors in isolation.
In so doing it has created awareness and led to a discussion about the implications of social inequalities on health outcomes of individuals over the years. The theory also provides a broad perspective about disease processes. This has allowed health researcher/professionals to design holistic treatment/care plans that does not only focus on the biomedical disease process but to take other aspects of people’s life into consideration (WHO, 2010).
Firstly, as a GP, it is crucial to explore the biopsychosocial model of health. One must realise that biological, psychological and social factors all contribute to a person’s overall health. The social dimension cannot be ignored in Anne’s case. According to the World Health Organisation, the social determinants of health are ‘the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.’ (World Health Organisation. 2013) From the information provided, one could suggest that various social factors have contributed to Anne’s obesity. Anne grew up in a deprived area of the inner city. Growing up in a deprived area does not directly cause obesity, however, social determinants are known as causes of the causes of ill health. (WMA. 2011) Obesity can be caused by consuming too many calories, leading a sedentary lifestyle and not sleeping enough. (Christian Nordqvist. 2011) These, in turn, could be referred to as consequences of living in the inner city. Studies have shown that ‘inner city parents have high levels of anxiety about neighbourhood safety. While these concerns may not entirely explain the discrepancy in activity levels between inner city and suburban children, a safe environment is crucial to increasing opportunities for physical activity.’ (Weir, L.A., Etelson, D. & Brand, D.A. 2006) Similarly, it is possible that Anne’s socio-economic status has influenced her smoking since a person below the poverty threshold is more likely than somebody at or above the threshold to be both a current smoker and not to have quit. (Flint, A.J. & Novotny, T.E. 1997)
In this essay I am going to investigate whether health is easily defined as the absence of disease or physical injury. According to Health psychology (2009) ‘World Health Organisation defined health as a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. In order to achieve good physical a nutrition diet is needed, healthy BMI, rest and adequate physical exercise is needed.
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).
There are many ways to categorize illness and disease; one of the most common is chronic illness. Many chronic illnesses have been related to altered health maintenance hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are associated with diet and stress, deficient in exercise, tobacco use, and obesity (Craven 2009). Some researchers define the chronic illness as diseases which have long duration and generally slow development (WHO 2013); it usually takes 6 month or longer than 6 month, and often for the person's life. It has a sluggish onset and eras of reduction for vanishing the symptoms and exacerbation for reappear the symptoms. Some of chronic illness can be directly life-threatening. Others remain over time and need intensive management, such as diabetes, so chronic illness affects physical, emotional, logical, occupational, social, or spiritual functioning. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, all of these diseases are the cause of mortality in the world, representing 63% of all deaths. So a chronic illness can be stressful and may change the way a person l...
Sociology of Health and Illness The sociological approaches focus on identifying the two sociological theories. We critically analysed the biomedical model and doctor-patient relationship. We also evaluated how the medical professionals exercise social control and the medical professional’s contribution to ill health. The difference between society and health is studied by sociologists in relation to health and illness.
Furthermore, people should understand that moods matter, not just to mental health, but to physical health as well. If someone is suffering from emotional illness such as depression or anxiety, they should seek treatment, since evidence is mounting that these conditions can lead to physical illness and a shorter life. Bibliography Books: Martin, P. (1997). The 'Secon The Healing Mind.
In the event of an individual falling ill, we as a nation are very lucky to have such excellent Physicians. Sociology has a variety of different perspectives when it comes to the understanding of the honest purpose of healthcare. With the new era emerging with new technology, humans have become inattentive to the environment and health wellness. I will be explaining the importance of healthcare from the Functionalistic Perspective, targeting three main factors; sick role, gatekeeper and social class. Along with some interesting facts, and studies of the environments role in health within a community.
Essay question 1: Critically discuss the biomedical model and social model of health and how they relate to lay perspectives on health and illness.
On the other hand, the medical model argues that health conditions not restricted by culture. Additionally, the sociological theories use participation in the core societal activities as the primary way of gauging an individual’s health status. In contrast, the medical model utilizes the biological ability of a person's body to evaluate health stability. In this respect, the sociological theories posit that the role of medical professionals is to allow individuals to participate fully in the essential social processes. However, in the medical model, the role of health experts is to return the body to its pre-disease state (Weiss & Lonnquist,
In order to prevent spread of infection, proper steps are needed to be performed everyday and after almost every task. Although this may seem drastic, it is important to keep patients, loved ones and yourself free from infections. In the brochure, Five Things You Can do To Prevent Infection (2015), outlines ways how to prevent microbes from entering the body. This brochure would benefit both healthcare providers and non-healthcare workers. The practices depicted in this brochure help aid and protect harmful microbes from potentially causing infection in the body. Although these steps have been created to help one with infection control, infection-causing microbes still posses the capability of entering the body via other alternative routes.