Effectiveness Of Models Of Health

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

Also sociologists believe that the focus on a particular patient for whom a cure should be found for is limited. As little concerned is paid to environmental and social factors that may lead to ill-health. The biomedical approach tends to focus more on the individual while ignoring the environmental factors that may cause disease.

Communities are sometimes largely unaware that social factors rather than medical ones, such as income, and employment status, shape our health. Our health is also determined by the health and social services we receive, and our ability to attain high education levels, food and safe housing, among other factors.

The biomedical model relies on several assumptions including the concept of mind body dualism with the mind and body seen as separate entities and accepting that they can be treated separately. The body itself was viewed as machine with a broken part that could be repaired or healed by an expert. There is a belief that a disease has its origin in a specific and knowable cause. The sick body can be examined, treated and repaired without taking other factors into consideration. The doctor holds a detached view of the patient and treats the body in isolation without considering other reasons that contribute to the condition.

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

The determinants of health are economic and social conditions that affect people’s health status. These influence the living and working conditions that impacts people’s everyday living condition. Factors such as the place and the environment we live in, genetics, educational level or work status and income, as well as friends and family are some of the aspects that affects our health condition. On the other hand, the people that have an access to good health care and have financial stability are less susceptible and are often less affected. (NANB, 2009)

Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential

It focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of the illness, however, in its most narrow form can sometimes fail to address some other important influences on health and wellbeing. The medical model is concerned with the pursuit of cures for the disease.

Biomedical model of health is an approach which eliminates psychological and social factors (environment) but only comprises biological issues in trying to recognize or understand an individual`s medical illness/disorder. The biomedical model of health looks upon treatment in expression of changing the body by medical intervention forms. Also this model seeks to look at what is wrong and fix that part of individual as it focuses on illness rather than health as well as diagnosing an individual`s illness.

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

The World Heath Organization defines health as being a state of wholeness in a person’s mental, physical, and social well being (Gurung, 2014). Different models of health are used worldwide to assist in achieving this state. Two widely used models of health in the United States include the biomedical model of health and the biopsychosocial model of health. They both strive to help individuals and communities achieve wholeness, while approaching this in different manners. Each model of health has strengths, drawbacks, and practical uses in the field of medicine.

The aim of this essay is to examine the influence that socio-economic status has on an individual’s health.

The Ecological Model of Health, sometimes also called The Social-Ecological Model, is one of the main models and theories that underpin the practice of health promotion. Defined by the Institute of Medicine as "a model of health that emphasizes the linkages and relationships among multiple factors (or determinants) affecting health”, that ecological framework is based on the premise that no single factor can fully explain the variations, the prevalence and the complexity patterns of diseases, as they are the result of a dynamic interaction of several varied determinants.

Medicalisation is conceptualised as an approach encompassing the medical definition and subsequent treatment of non-medical conditions and portrayal of the aforementioned condition as a medical problem, akin to an illness or disorder (Conrad, 1992: 209). The term ‘medicalisation’ first appeared in medical literature in the 1970s, however was more often than not used only in the context in the critique of medicalisation, lacking in the modern conventional sense of

Townsend and Davidson (1988) also suggested that the term health is derived from the word “whole”, which is a recipient of the healing process. Therefore, an attempt to heal or cure in medical field literally means, to make whole or restore health. It is this idea that influences medicine to adopt a mechanistic approach towards disease management thereby obscuring the understanding of health in human context of well-being, which advocates for alternative or complementary approaches. This viewpoint also reflects in some definitions and the medical model discussed above. The criticisms of the medical by Illich (1974) is that the medical view only deals with the cause of disease or illness rather than the external factors affecting the person’s health. Within different sections of medicine, for example the mental health department, there are marked differences when explaining the origin of illness, disease and treatments.