M1: Biomedical and Social Models of Health Flashcards

1
Q

What is the WHO definition of Health?

A

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

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2
Q

What is the Biomedical Model of Health?

A
  • Assumes “health and illness are objective biological states”
  • Health = individual responsibility
  • Cure disease, limit disability, and reduce risk.
  • Based on the diagnosis and explanation of illness as a malfunction of the body’s biological mechanisms
  • Underpins most health professions & health care services
  • Focus is on treating individuals – not the origins of illness
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2
Q

What are the Two Models of Health?

A

1) Biomedical model
2) Social model

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3
Q

What is the Biomedical Conceptualization of Illness and Disease?

A

“Disease is an objectively measurable pathology of the physical body, which is the result of malfunctioning parts of the body. Cure is through chemotherapeutic, surgical, [behaviour modification through lifestyle change], or other ‘heroic’ means. Hospitals, as places for the practice of high-tech medicine, are of primary importance”

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4
Q

What are the Defining Characteristics Biomedical Model of Health? (4)

A
  1. Cartesian mind/body dualism
  2. Machine metaphor
  3. Doctrine of ‘specific etiology’
  4. Technological imperative
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5
Q

Biomedical Model of Health

What is the Cartesian Mind/Body Dualism?

A

A concept introduced by 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes.

Descartes famously stated, “I think, therefore I am.”

Dualism: The mind and body are separate entities.
- The brain relates to the physical body.
- The mind is associated with the spiritual realm.

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6
Q

Biomedical Model of Health

How does Cartesian Mind/Body Dualism influence health interventions?

A
  • In Cartesian Dualism, disease/illness in the body leads to health interventions focusing on the body.
  • Psychological/subjective (experiential) aspects of illness are often ignored.
  • The body is treated by medical professionals, while the mind/spirit is often addressed by religious authorities.
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7
Q

Biomedical Model of Health

What is the ‘Body as Machine’ metaphor in health? (4)

A
  • The body is viewed as a machine with discrete parts (organs, bones, etc.).
  • Disease & illness are seen as the “breakdown” of the body.
  • Health practitioners work to “repair” the body, focusing on individual parts.
  • This metaphor emphasizes that body parts exist in isolation, separated from the person’s social, cultural, and environmental context.
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8
Q

Biomedical Model of Health

What is the Doctrine of Specific Etiology?

A
  • The Doctrine of Specific Etiology is the belief that each disease has a specific, identifiable cause.
  • Disease is assumed to originate from specific and knowable causes (e.g., germs, viruses, trauma).
  • This doctrine leads to the search for a ‘magic bullet’ (medication, surgery, or treatment) to target and cure the disease.
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9
Q

Biomedical Model of Health

What is the Technological Imperative in healthcare?

A
  • The Technological Imperative refers to the treatment and repair of the body through technological interventions.
  • Examples include prescription medications, radiation/chemotherapy, and surgery.
  • Healthcare experts apply these technologies to the body to treat illness or injury.
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10
Q

What are the Limits of the Biomedical Model?
(4)

A
  1. The fallacy of the ‘specific etiology’ doctrine
  2. Objectification and medical scientism
  3. Reductionism and biological determinism
  4. Victim blaming
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11
Q

What is the social model of health?

A
  • Assumes that health is related to and determined by various social factors (e.g., income, education, gender, culture).
  • Promoting health should be a social responsibility, rather than just an individual one.
  • Aims to prevent illness, reduce health inequities, and address the underlying social causes of illness.
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12
Q

What are the defining characteristics of the Social Model of Health? (3)

A
  1. Social production/distribution of health and illness: Health and illness are influenced by social and economic factors.
  2. Social construction of health and illness: Ideas about health and illness are shaped by societal norms and values.
  3. Social organization of health care: The structure of healthcare systems is shaped by social and political factors.
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13
Q

Social Model of Health

What is the Social Production/Distribution of Health and Illness?

A
  • Illness is influenced by an individual’s social environment, such as living conditions, work environment, and socioeconomic status.
  • Risk-imposing factors are social conditions that increase the likelihood of illness.
  • Social conditions can directly contribute to the production and distribution of illness and risk.
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14
Q

Social Model of Health

What is the Social Construction of Health and Illness?

A

“What is considered to be a disease in one culture or time period may be considered normal and healthy elsewhere and at other times” (Germov & Hornosty, 2017, p. 21).
- Example: Homosexuality.

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15
Q

Social Model of Health

What is the Social Organization of Health Care?

A
  • How health services are funded, organized, and used collectively influence health and illness.
  • Example: Canadian health care system.
16
Q

How does the Social Model of Health aim to cure illness/disease? (3)

A
  1. Public policy.
  2. State intervention to alleviate health and social inequalities.
  3. Community participation, advocacy, and political lobbying (Germov & Hornosty, 2017, p. 1).
17
Q

What are the limits of the Social Model of Health?

A
  1. Achieving equality/equity is utopian and unachievable.
  2. Over-emphasis on medicine as harmful
  3. Solutions are complex, costly, and difficult to implement.
  4. Under-emphasis on individual responsibility for health