INTRODUCTION
“Don’t treat the disease, treat the patient” [9]. The concept of health has seemed to become complex in definition over the centuries as science improves. “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”-World Health Definition of Health (1948) [9]
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 body but recognizes the human being as a complex organism and health as an interaction between the physical/body/biological, mind/psychological and environment/sociological. This model was introduced by George Engel (1977).
Reflection is the process of evaluating ideas/thoughts from experiences and making active decisions. It is a necessary tool in experiential learning.[4] Several models have been developed to facilitate this process but this essay is going to be retrospective and based on John’s model of structured reflection(1992) [3,4]. The general reflective questions will be WHAT? SO WHAT? And THEN WHAT? [4]
To suggest an option for a new theory of healthcare does not necessarily mean to invalidate all previous or existing ones, since their relationship need not to be exclusivist, but may be inclusivist instead.[8] Einstein’s theory for example, progressed beyond Newton’s physics, but the latter still remains relevant till today. Though the Biomedical and Biopsychosocial models each ...
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...versity Library website [accessed 20 Dec. 2013]
[8] Schmidt, J.M., 2012. The Biopsychosocial Model and Its Potential for a New Theory of Homeopathy. Homeopathy (2012), [e-journal], pp.121-128. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University Library website [accessed 20 Dec. 2013]
[9] Shalini, G.J: 2013. Biopsychosocial Model, Professional Development 1. MAHSA University, unpublished.
[10] Sigerist, HE: A History of Medicine: Primitive and Archaic Medicine, Vol 1. Oxford UK, Oxford University Press, 1951
[11] Yolanda, A., 2003. The biopsychosocial model in medical research: the evolution of the health concept over the last two decades. Patient Education and Counseling 53 (2004), [e-journal], pp.239-244. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University Library website [accessed 20 Dec. 2013]
Michael is a 56 year old male who lives alone in a small tin shed in the middle of the bush in central Queensland. He has no children, no partner and lives by himself. During the day he spends his time sleeping on the couch or doing chores around the property. If he isn’t asleep, he requires a stimuli to remain occupied. When he was a young boy, he was a very calm child with a great sense of humour. His physical health was perfect with good energy levels. When he was sexually abused at the age of 8, by his grandfather, these characteristics started to change. From the age of 16 he was having regular breakdowns in his thinking and emotional responses. Michael was constantly feeling irritable and having trouble sleeping with frequent nightmares. As the years went by his attitude was extremely negative which led on to him being withdrawn from his family and friends. During his last year of high school, he started to regularly use marijuana. He would experience countless amounts of paranoia episodes where he would hear voices and thought he was being spied on. At the age of 45 he was fin...
The biopsychosocial model of health was developed by George L. Engel (1977) whom determined the cause of diseases. Biopsychosocial has a deep interrelation with all three of the models or the factors which leads to the overall outcome of a person’s illness or disease. Each model in the biopsychosocial model of health has different insights in regards to patient’s body, health and diseases.
An analysis of the psychological constructs of the various stages of health in Fatima's life, a single mother and 50-hour weeks worker that developed hypertension. Using the Psychology of Health and Illness as the main point, comparing the biomedical model and health psychology. Even though according to Ogden (ano) a biomedical model regards, Fatima illness is beyond her control and she is only a victim of some external force that invades the body and caused physical change or is originated as an internal physical change. (Ogden, ano, p.5). Fatima health and illness is a psychological construction of her habits and behaviors also of her social environment.
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).
The model of addiction etiology that best describes why people get addicted and how best to help them is biopsychosocial model. The biopsychosocial model, first developed by cardiologist Dr. George Engel, is today widely accepted by the mental health professions. The biopsychosocial model describes addiction as a brain illness that causes personality and social problems. The biopsychosocial model lets us to make solid and accurate differences between substance use, abuse, and dependence. It also allows the signs of addiction to be recognized and structured into progressive stages.
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)
Kleinman, Arthur M. “What Kind of Model for the Anthropology of Medical Systems?” American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep, 1978), pp. 661-665.
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 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.
This is more holistic approach in the sense that it ‘involves the promotion of health, preventing of disease, the treatment of illness, the care for those who are disabled and continuous developm...
Puffjacket. ( 2010) Why Is Health Difficult To Define? [online] Available at: http://www.etudier.com/dissertations/Why-Is-Health-Difficult-To-Define/35259.html [Accessed:5 Jan 2014].
The notion of health is contextual and an interactive, dynamic process between person and environment (Schim et al, 2007). Both wellness and illness are conceptualized by the ‘person’, existing on a continuum across the lifespan (Arnold & Boggs, 2001).
Introduction: For this essay I am going to critically discuss the biomedical model as well as the social model of health and how they both relate to the lay perspectives on health and illness.
This also requires the person to be socially and economically productive in order to be seen as healthy. According to Mildred Blaxter (1990), there are different ways of defining health. Furthermore, disease can be seen as the presence of an abnormality in part of the body or where there is a harmful physical change in the body such as broken bones. So, illness is the physical state of disease, that is to say, the symptoms that a person feels because of the disease. However, there is some limitation of these definitions which is not merely an absence of disease but a state of physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing.
Health psychology is a relatively new concept rapidly growing and could be defined as the biological and psychological influences affect ones behaviour also bringing in social influences of health and illness (MacDonald, 2013). Biological determinants consider genetic and biological factors of an illness whereas psychological determinants focus on the psychological factors such as why people behave the way they do when dealing with issues such as anxiety and stress. Models such as the Health Belief Model and Locus of Control were developed in attempt to try and explain psychological issues around a chronic illness such as breast cancer (Ogden, 2012). Sociological factors can cause an enormous amount of pressure for one to behave in a certain way for example gender roles in society and religious considerations when dealing with health beliefs. Health Beliefs can be defined as one’s own perception to their own personal health and illness and health behaviours (Ogden, 2012). There are also theories and models used to explain pain and coping with diagnosis such as Moos and Schaefer (1984) Crisis theory and Shontz (1975) cycle of grief people go through when being diagnosed with a serious illness.