Biomedical VS Social Model

Question 0

Focus

Answer 0

Biomedical
- Ignores social, economic and environmental factors

Social
- Societal focus, how the living and working conditions affect health

Question 1

Perception

Answer 1

Biomedical

• Only looks at disease like conventional medicine
• Goal is to cure the disease & reduce risk factors at a biomedical level

Social

• Explores social context (e.g. one’s environment, occupation and etc)
• Goal is to prevent disease by improving one’s social standing

Question 2

Who is responsible?

Answer 2

Biomedical
- The individual

Social
- The social environment

Question 3

Indicators of Health

Answer 3

Biomedical
- Individual, Pathology, Age, Sex, Genetics

Social
- Living Conditions, Social Inequality (Class and Education), Ethnicity,
Occupation, Age

Note. A lot of crossing over.

Question 4

Causes

Answer 4

Biomedical
- Gene Defects, Microorganisms, Trauma, Lifestyle (e.g. smoking, diet)

Social

• Economic factors = poverty, social class
• Employment factors = stress, occupational hazards, education
• Cultural factors = traditions, values, discrimination

Question 5

Treatment Methods

Answer 5

Biomedical

• Surgery
• Pharmaceuticals
• Behaviour modification (by education or cessation of habits and diet)
• Immunization

Social

• Advocacy
• State intervention (to alleviate social and health inequality)
• Public policies (e.g. ban smoking)

Question 6

Benefits

Answer 6

Biomedical
- Directly address disease/disability

Social
- Addresses social causes of health and illness.

Note. Both have cons where they shift responsibilities to the extremes. I.e. biomedical does a lot of victim blaming whereas social gives the individual too much benefit of the doubt and takes away much of the individual’s responsibility for their own health.