Models of health and well being

Question 1

Describe illness

Answer 1

A persons subjective experience of their symptoms. What the patient brings to the doctor.

Question 2

Describe Disease

Answer 2

Underlying pathology; biologically defined; the practitioners perspective. The illness

Question 3

Describe sickness

Answer 3

Social and cultural conceptions of this condition; cultural beliefs and reactions such as fear or rejection; these affect how the patient reacts. Also covers what is considered a disorder suitable for medical treatment.

Question 4

What is the biomedical model?

Answer 4

• Absence of disease
• Human body is a machine
• Disease is the breakdown of the ‘machine’
• Doctors task is to repair ‘machine’
• Now seen as inadequate

Question 5

What is the psychosocial concept?

Answer 5

• Influence of social, psychological, cultural, economic and political factors of the people concerned.
• Holistic concept; recognises social, political and environmental influences on health
• Multi dimensional process

Question 6

What is the Ecological concept?

Answer 6

• View health as a dynamic equilibrium between man and his environment and disease
• Disease is a response to a poor or degraded environment

Question 7

What is the physical dimension of health?

Answer 7

Perfect functioning of the body

Every cell and every organ are functioning at optional capacity and with harmony with the rest of the body

Question 8

What is the mental dimension of health?

Answer 8

Ability to respond to the many and varied experiences of life with flexibility and a sense of purpose

Question 9

What is the social dimension of health?

Answer 9

Harmony and integration with the individual, between each individual and the world in which they live

“quantity and quality” of individuals interpersonal ties and the extent of involvement with the community

Question 10

What is the vocational dimension of health?

Answer 10

Work often plays a role in promoting both physical and mental health

Question 11

What are the 6 points in the ‘Wheel of Wellness’?

Answer 11

• Physical
• Social
• Environmental
• Emotional
• Spiritual
• Intellectual

Question 12

What is the Dalgren and Whitehead model of determinants of health?

Answer 12

• Age
• Sex
• Hereditary factors
• Individual lifestyle factors
• Social and community networks
• Living and working conditions
• General socio economic, cultural and environmental conditions