Biopsychosocial Model Of Health Psychology

The biomedical model and the biopsychosocial model are both representations of health commonly accepted in modern society. The biomedical model considers the absence of disease is physical wellness. This model is good practice but it has limitations. On the other hand, the biopsychosocial model takes into account the whole person which has led to extensive research in many aspects of wellness. It addresses more than physical well being as many people now are ill but they have no presence of disease. Socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity and generational differences all play important roles in

In today’s society, there is still a great struggle with health care disparities and many lives are affected by the lack of this fundamental program in our society. There are millions of people who die each year because they are unable to afford quality healthcare. The debate still continues about healthcare inequalities, what causes this disparity and who are affected by it. Health care is more of a necessity rather than a luxury and even though skeptics may argue to the latter, it only underlines the importance of the need for the wellbeing and care of individuals. There are several factors that could contribute to the lack of health care in the United States which ranges from but not limited to race, gender, socio- economic status, and lack of insurance coverage. The truth is there is a great disproportion between who can really afford quality healthcare as appose to individuals who have it. One would imagine that an employed individual would easily afford quality healthcare but we could be no further from the truth, since one’s economic status is an essential determinant to its affordability.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Satcher (2010) reports that health inequities are “systematic, avoidable, and unjust” disparities (p. 6). He also states that the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that social conditions are the most important determinant of a person’s health. Social conditions “determine access to health services and influence lifestyle choices” (Satcher, 2010, p. 6). These determinants must be addressed in order to reduce health inequity. Inequity can be

In his essay, "In Health, We're Not No.1," Robert J. Samuelson states that Americans' success ends up negatively affecting them because of bad behavior, choices and bad health habits. Exhaustive statistics and studies show that Americans' health is at the lowest levels in comparison to most advanced countries. The United States possesses a higher death rate from illnesses, and a lower life expectancy of 78.2 years compared to 83 years in Japan. Most of the circumstances that contribute to reducing Americans' health are the choices which people make according to their attitudes and social conditions, such as homicide by guns, car accidents and problems with drugs. Another condition associated with disadvantages of American health is the higher

Many are benighted to the fact that health is rooted in a classist, race ingrained, education entrenched hierarchy. The higher you are on the socio-economic pyramid the greater the guarantee of safe housing, sufficient food, and access to quality care. High income and social status is correlated to better health outcomes because regardless of age and sex, low-income citizens are susceptible to lower life expectancy and more illnesses. This is further heightened by one 's race/ethnicity. The degree of control a person has over their way of life is based on stressors that these two factors (income and class) produce. Education goes hand in hand with socioeconomic status as education supposedly facilitates the likelihood of employment and consequently establishes a class paradigm. Outside of that, when people are knowledgeable and are equipped with problem solving skills they are privileged with a sense of autonomy over life circumstances. Education is a gateway for better access to healthcare and information on healthy living. Stressful occupations, underemployment, and unemployment are linked with poor health because a person 's job, or lack thereof, has domineering influences on their physical, mental, and social wellness. Employment provides financial stability, outlets for personal growth, opportunities for social contact etc. thus when that is generally nonexistent, or is taken away from a person, physiological and emotional safety is compromised. Then there is

The Biopsychosocial model (BPS) was established in the early 1970s as a replacement for the biomedical approach created by George Engel (1977). He had argued against the reductionist biomedical model of disease for not considering the behavioural, psychological and social dimensions in the model (Jull, 2017). Wade and Halligan, (2016) had established that biomedical remains as the dominant healthcare approach. The aim of BPS is to integrate the biological factors with psychological and environmental factors, Engel (1977) suggested that the biopsychosocial model of illness has a significant role in the functioning of humans in terms of disease or illness and can make medicine more scientific and should be adopted into psychiatry research (Adler, 2009). Davies and Roache, (2017) established that the model was exceedingly determined, recommending new details for practices as well as a non-reductive advocate for mental illness.

National health policy is a complex and interdependent issue regarding a multitude of components including structural determinants of good health, lifestyle determinants, and socializing and empowering determinants. Structural determinants of good health can be considered key parts of our society regarding economic, political, and social areas that our culture has established (Estes, Chapman, Dodd, Hollister, Harrington, 2013). Our country has major inequalities regarding socioeconomic status and health care access, this in turn contributes to a disparity among our population and further promotes inequalities. Higher social classes have better access to health care as compared to people of lower socioeconomic status, thus further dividing

In order to understand health, different models or frameworks for thinking have been developed which have been useful. The Biomedical model which evolved since the 19th century from Galen’s (Greek physician 200AD) concept of pathogen, focused on removing the disease/disability and not on prevention or general well-being [9]. The Biopsychosocial model however, doesn’t merely focus on the physical state of

Healthy lives, Healthy people (DH, 2010a) outline how public health challenges are to be tackled; including recognising lifestyle driven health problems (Chan & Woo, 2010). The DH policies aim to improve the public health of the population, consequently the DH recognises the issues can be related to health inequalities (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2007). The wealthier population live longer than the poor (Karlsson, Nilsson, Lyttkens & Leeson, 2010). Healthy Lives, Healthy People state people in the poorest areas die on average 7 years earlier than those living in the richer areas and spend up to 17 more years living with ill health (DH, 2010a). Consequently, it is paramount that inequalities in health are reduced as a result each person has access to the same care (DH, 2016a). Our Health and Wellbeing today (DH, 2010b) accompanies the white paper Healthy lives, Healthy people (DH, 2010a). Our Health and Wellbeing today (DH, 2010b) utilise an extensive approach to looking at health and wellbeing, identifying that health is not just about the existence of disease or illness, but how a person’s general health is (Patton et al, 2012). People are living longer than ever before which means the success in improving in addition to building on public health raises further challenges (DH,

Health is unevenly distributed across socioeconomic status. People of lower income, education, or occupational status experience worse health and die earlier than do their better-off counterparts. (Ficella, 2004). The heaviest factor that contributes to the health disparity between socioeconomic groups in my country is the economic resources inequality. In my health services are very expensive and concentrated. Therefore, many people in the bottom of the social classes, who are marginalized, are being unable to afford the cost of good health services while people with relatively high income procure these services at will. For instance, in the lowest class it is seldom for people to visit a doctor even though they feel sick and if chances are they do it is only when their health state is worsening or

The biopsychosocial model of health is a multidimensional approach to health (Lecture 1, 2014). It focuses not only on the biology or physiology of a person, but also includes the psychology of a person and the manner in which society and culture influence health as well (Gurung, 2014). It was developed in the 21st century as an important theoretical framework to approaching health and medicine (Richtig, Trapp, Kapfhamer, Jenull, Richtig & Trapp, 2016).This approach makes the assumption that the mind and body connection is not only relevant but also vital to a person’s entire well being. It takes a holistic approach when treating an individual and can improve health in the

This was really an aspiring week to start with for my health psychology course. I have never thought so deeply on what heath meant to me. Maybe just the meaning of staying away from illness? Why did I need to know what health was and why this related to psychology? It was until I tried to understand about the biopsychosocial model, I realized that the meaning of health varied among different individuals as a wide range of aspects regarding to biological, psychological as well as social and cultural aspects might have an impact on the ideas of staying healthy. What influenced me most was the psychological approach in the model where I found that people responded and behaved differently to their health condition was due to the variability of

Your biopsychosocial model was really nice. I found it very insightful. This model shows us how biophysical, psychological and social factors are interconnected to each other and have high impact on smoking in adolescences. I do agree with you that socioeconomic status play a vital role on smoking. The strength of the relationship between socioeconomic status and smoking is very evident. And a gradient still exist between SES and health, when looking just at nonsmokers or just at smokers.1 Prevention strategies to prevent smoking in adolescent should be focus on primary prevention. Because most smokers pick up the habit, while still in their teens.1 So, it is important to focus of primary prevention is to reduce initiation of tobacco use

The biopsychosocial model aims to explain an individual’s health as a culmination of his unique biological factors (comprising of genetics, temperament and biochemicals), psychological factors (such as mood, affect, personality, etc.) and social factors (cultural background, society within which one operates, familial factors, social interactions, etc.). Distorted biological factors such as composition of neurochemicals in the brain or abnormality in any other bio physiological processes can lead to ill health and diseases occurring in the body. Psychological factors such as clinical symptoms, psychopathology or even perpetual distress and negative thinking could lead to release in cortisol in the body. This is also known as the stress hormone

Developed at Rochester by Drs. George Engel and John Romano. This approach systematically examines biological, psychological and social factors and their interactions in understanding health, illness and healthcare delivery (University of Rochester Medical Centre, 2016).