What is Biomedical Model of Health

Biomedical model of health

You may need assignment help on the biomedical model of health during the academics. Hence, it is a must for you to have the idea of the same to attempt your task successfully. So, let’s learn about the same in this article.

Biomedical model of health

Definition of the biomedical model of health

To learn about the biomedical model of health thoroughly, it is a must for you to learn what is it. It is also a must for you to know the terms such as health, illness, and disease to understand it better. Biomedical model has many names. You can call medical model of health or biomechanical model of health at times.

It is a scientific measure that doctors take to find out the reasons behind a particular disease. They solely focus on the biological reasons to learn about the illness with this method. Instead of using any other reasons such as sociological psychological. With the use of the biomedical model of health, doctors consider the patient as a body that is ill. They handle, explore and treat the disease independently from their mind and other external measures.

Thus, the professionals with fine knowledge must treat the patient. The treatment must take place in an environment that allows the use of medical technology (Giddens. 2009). World health organization give the defines health as the state where persons physically, mentally and socially fit. The absence of illness or infirmity are not the only measures to consider a person free of diseases.

One definition of illness is from Pool and Geissler. 2005). It says that illness is what state where a person is not feeling or thinking well. They say that a disease is a dysfunctionality in the body and its parts. It is a must for the patients and doctors to diagnose it. Hence, Professional with proper knowledge must look into all such matters.

Social model of health

In the above section, we discussed the biomedical model health. You must have awareness about the social model of health to become the master of assignment writing related to Nursing. So, let’s learn about the social model of health.

Unlike the biomedical model of health, social model of health analysis the social aspects of health. It can also make you learn how social phenomenon impacts the patients’ health. Factors such as lifestyle, environment, and economy are crucial in the social model of health.

It helps the doctors to determine how these factors urged the people to use these products. Ultimately, medical professional find out how it has affected the patients’ health. Some of the key social determinants of health are conditions in which people have born, grown and lived. To get the exact idea of the diseases, you have to analyze the work and age of the patients. It is also must to analyze the health system where the patients have grown.

Money distribution, power, resources at all levels are the reasons behind things turn out this way. All of these are the reasons for inequality of health among countries, social classes, and genders. To fight with such inequalities, WHO established the commission for social determinants of health (CSDH). This commission analyzed the conditions and came up with the three recommendations in 2008.

  • It is must for the analyzed countries to improve daily living conditions.
  • Dealing with the inequality in the division of power, money, and resources is a must.
  • Learn about the issues and find out the impact of the action.

It is the method that you can use to look after your health. There is no need for you to go to the doctor while using the social model of health. It makes it a proactive and preventive method to deal with the diseases in the whole society.

Sociologists may find the social model of health favorable. But, doctors may consider the positive points of all three models. It may help them understand the mental and physical needs of a patient. Ultimately, professionals can serve the patients well.

Differences between the biomedical model of health and social model of health

Biomedical model of health

  • As the name suggests, biomedical model deals with the physical and biological factors of diseases. In contrast, in social model, medical professionals give a thought to the wide range of the factors.
  • Only health professionals and doctors can use the biomedical model of health. The social model of health is flexible enough. A wide range of people can practice it.
  • Medical professionals focus on the diagnoses, cure, and treatment of disease with the use of the biomedical method of health. The social model gives preference to the prevention.
  • Biomedical model is dependent on the healthcare system. The social model is not the same.
  • Biomedical model is not on the trend today. On the other hand, the social model of health is in use nowadays.

Biomedical model of health psychology

The relation between mind and body

Mind and body work independently and are separate entities as per the biomedical model of medicine. This way mind may not influence the physical matters. In this method, you consider the mind as an abstract. It has a relation to feelings and thoughts. On the other hand, you give a thought to the body regarding the physical matter. Skin, muscles, bones, brain, and organs come under this category.

Role of psychology in the illness and health

Diseases may have psychological results in the biomedicine. But it may not cause. For example, a cancer patient may feel unhappy, but it will not push cancer to increase.

Health psychology and the focus on the biopsychological model

Health psychology suggests a role for the mind in both the reasons and treatment and of diseases and challenges the mind-body split. It makes it the only area that sticks to the biopsychological model. You can understand the health psychology and biopsychosocial model considering the points given below:

The causes of illness

According to the health psychology, human beings are the tough system. It further explains that diseases occur due to the various factors, not only one factor. In other words, health psychology tries not to follow the simple linear model of health. It says that biological, psychological and social factors’ combination causes the diseases.

The right way of treatment

Health psychology recommends that the professionals should treat a patient as a whole. Not only for the physical changes that have taken place. The doctors must encourage the change and beliefs. They must suggest the patients some strategies that can help them to cope with the illness.

The person responsible for the treatment

As mentioned above, health psychology promotes the whole treatment, not just physical. So, the patient is responsible for the treatment as well. It is a must for the patient to take the medicines regularly and must change the beliefs and behavior.

The relationship between health and illness

There is no difference between health and illness if you look at it from the biopsychosocial perspective. It exists on a continuum. This way a person faces the transformation from healthy to ill and back again.

Biomedical model of health strengths and weaknesses

Now you are aware of what is the biomedical model of health. You also have gained the idea of the social and psychological model of health. Now, let’s learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the biomedical model of health.

Biomedical model of health

Advantages of the biomedical model of health

  • Biomedical model of health is a positive method. It encourages you to do research about the diseases. It does not assume that you cannot do anything to treat a particular disease.
  • With the use of this method, you learn about the causes of the diseases. It helps you to avoid disease.
  • Research has helped the medical professionals to come up with the finest treatments.

Disadvantages of the biomedical model of health

  • Biomedical model of health says that health and illness are not related. It also says that health and diseases are not socially constructed.
  • Coward (1989) says that this method that health problems health issues occur due to casualty at the personal level. It means that it does not consider the social factors as the cause for illness.
  • This method does not promote prevention. It focuses too much on the treatment instead.
  • Medical professionals have all the power with the use of this biomedical model of health.
  • You can also consider iatrogenesis as a limitation. The reason is that it says that healer brings the illness.

How important are the models to understand the illness?

The model of illness that you use can have significant consequences. For instance, in the first world war, some soldiers complaining of stress were shot. The reason was that commanders thought that they were malingerers. But, things have changed today, and they are victims now.

According to the most models health, diseases and sickness have a causal relation. You understand the illness through the cultural beliefs and models of health. You take the appropriate medicine after that. Medicalization of generally experienced anomalous sensations has given birth to the guess that a particular illness underlies all illness.

To gain some more academic knowledge you can check out other articles on our blog.