The Bio-medical model has several assumptions that are accurate; it defines health as a biological normality it also believes that illnesses and disease are caused by an identifiable factor such as a faulty gene or virus. The model believes that illness is a temporary condition producing a physical symptom and that it should be identified and classified by a medical official not a non-expert. It is common for the experts that follow the bio-medical model to focus solely on diagnosing the symptoms of their patient leaving no room for dispute between the doctor and the patient. Illness and disease has cures and treatments usually from removing the cause, medicine is seen as the way to solve health problems, and the health of society is seen as dependant on the state of medical knowledge and the availability of medical resources. The main strengths of the bio-medical model is that it stresses the importance of trying to find the cause of illness and disease; there is a wealth of evidence that support the bio-medical approach, including successful operations, cancer screenings and immunisation programmes.
The differences between the biomedical and social model of health is that biomedical focuses on the cure for treating and diagnosing treatment for ill patients while the social model focuses on the origins of the illness rather than the cure. (Denny and Earle 2010) The social model’s aim is to change environmental factors to allow healthier choices focusing on the psychological and social factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, social class and disability. (Kirby et.al 2000) The biomedical model of medicine has been around for centuries as the dominant model used by health professionals to diagnosis disease. The model concentrates on the physical processes of disease and does not take into account psychological or social factors in the cause or treatment of the illness. (Giddens 1989) This model of health looks at individual physical functioning and describes disease and illness as a result of physical causes such as injury or infections.
This model identifies health as the ‘absence of disease’ with specific focus on diagnosing and curing individuals with illnesses such as cancer. The different views which are associated with health results in many policies and practices of the National Health Service (NHS) being put in place. The biomedical model suggests that during times of illness, intervention from health care professionals is necessary. Not only this, but the biomedical model also suggests health is the reason for the absence of many life threatening diseases. It is argued by many sociologists the main purpose of health care is to cure disease through the use of scientifically tested methods purposely created to address diagnosed illnesses.
They work without input from the user. Expert Systems have helped evolve the health care field to what it is today. Expert systems are used just as x-rays and lab values are obtained to improve the human understanding of a patient’s condition. Health care workers do not always have the knowledge base to treat every condition encountered. Expert systems are used to close the gap in knowledge providing effective, efficient, and accurate care.
It also tends to rely upon a diagnosis being made, most probably by a member of the medical profession. If we are unaware that we have a disease or if this disease has not been diagnosed, does it mean that we are healthy? (Aggleton 1990) The concept of the power of medicine stems from the biomedical model of health, which originated from the work of Rene Descartes. He suggested that the
Medicalization of Deviance Medicalization is an issue that is dear to the sociology of medicine. It occurs when we use medical terms to address non-medical issues, and treat them as medical problems such as illnesses or diseases. Medicalization is the process by which human problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions, and come under the authority of doctors and other health professionals to study, diagnose, prevent, or treat. The term has been used more often in the critique of medicalization, than as a neutral term simply describing something that has become medical. It is has been called "the process whereby more and more of everyday life has come under medical dominion, influence, and supervision", and "defining behavior as a medical problem or illness and mandating/licensing the medical professionals to provide some type of treatment for it".
The Western scientific approach to medicine bases on these main features, focusing on the abnormalities in the body, biological factors explain the illness, it examines the cause of ill health through observations and tests, trained health professionals are the ones able to identify and treat the illness, emphasising different treatments medications and other interventions. Health care environments are appropriate places to undergo treatments and the model specifically states that illness is regarded as a temporary condition which can be reversed by the intervention of medical expertise. The bio medical model relates to the functionalist approach of health as it specifies that health is the absences of disease and it’s regarded as dysfunctional for the society as individuals cannot make positive contribution to the running of society. The model does not consider the social and environmental factors of ill health but relays on the scientifically methods to address and diagnose the illness if the illness cannot be diagnosed the individual would be labelled as malingering meaning one will be pretending to be ill for
Biomedical model makes a cure the priority within health care services. Health is determined by the “absence of disease”. The reason for national health services are to find cures for already existing diseases and or an illness. After researching the illness enough to find out how to cure it, they then give out medication to cure the illness. Sociologists find that doing all the research needed to find a cure is a limitation of the model.
Although it did not carry the force of law, the Nuremberg Code was the first international document which advocated voluntary participation and informed consent. In the traditional Hippocratic doctor–patient relationship, the patient is silent and dutifully obedient to the beneficent and trusted physician. Obviously, the patient must seek the physician's help and initiate the therapeutic relationship with the physician. But once patients agree to be treated, they trust that the physician will act in their interest, or at least will do no harm. In research, which is outside the beneficent context of the
The first step towards understanding diversity is identifying the ways in which individuals can differ. Physical differences such as weight, height, skin color, and gender have historically been the focus of the biomedical model. Variance in our genetic makeup can predispose us to certain health problems, such as breast cancer, or benefits, such as longevity. However, cultural differences, defined by Giger and Davidzhar (1990) to include language, family structure, religion, and perception of time and space, as well as biological variations, can profoundly affect the client’s response to care as well. There is very little about an individual that is not in some way affected by the culture they are exposed to, and responses to health alterations are certainly no exception.