Medical Model Flashcards
Name 5 disciplines w interest in health + illness why?
medicine, anthro, history, geography, sociology
medical model serves to?
individualize and depoliticize
what are 4 assumptions of medical model?
- mind-body dualism
- doctrine of specific etiology
- biological reductionism
- body as a machine
what is theory of measma?
way that ppl got sick. due to smells/noxious air.
what what theory of measma replaced by?
germ theory
what is mind-body dualism?
medical model assumption 1.
mind separate from body. illness is involuntary + unconscious.
implications of mind-body dualism
treat body without engaging mind. no need to talk with patient. doctor doesn’t listen to words of patient, rather focus on objective symptoms.
what is doctrine of specific etiology?
for every disease, there is specific cause
- assumption 2 of medical model
implications of doctrine of specific etiology
patient reports less important than diagnostic instruments. test is definitive. drug = cure. doctors have authority.
what is magic bullet approach?
pharmaceutical can cure illness - implication of doctrine of specific etiology.
what is biological reductionsim?
3rd assumption of medical model.
biology > other aspects of body. has affect on all parts.
implications of biological reductionism
look to body to diagnose, ignore social context
what is body as a machine
4th assumption of medical model
- body mechanically engineered w unique parts that can be fixed when broken
implications of body as machine
treat diseased part, forget impact on whole body.
not every individual recovers same. longer recovery = may be blamed for it.
leads to medical specialization = focus on smaller parts + excluding whole
critique of medical model
- mckeown thesis
- illich - iatrogenesis
- fail to see disease is socially constructed.
- boundaries for med from socio-political struggle, not science
what is epidemiological transition
change in what people die from. shift from transmitted disease to chronic disease
mckeown thesis?
belief that medicine is responsible for changes is overstated.
evidence for mckeown thesis?
- vaccine for TB found way after death rate from TB started to decline
mckeown thesis - true cause of changes?
- advance in nutrition: improved farming + increase transportation = more ppl well fed = nutrients help fight illness.
- advance in hygiene. sanitation, waste disposed properly. clean water.
- therapeutic intervention: little impact
illich critique on medical model?
medicine is a threat to health. mediccal iatrogenesis. = clinical, social, cultural
define clinical iatrogenesis
clinical damage that outweighs its potential benefits
ex: thalidomide.
define social iatrogenesis
medicine obscures the political conditions that render society unhealthy. nervios vs hunger. medicalization rather than fixing social issue
cultural iiatrogenesis
medicine expropriates the power of the individual to heal. body is resilient, but medicine expects solutions immediately, takes away humanity, deny pain/suffering
socially constructed disease
define “sick” or “not sick”. emerges out of interactions. societal values seep into what is”healthy” vs not.
boundaries of med due to socio-political
social perspective whether it’s important, or right vs wrong. not so much about scientific discovery or scientifically valid.
