Biopsychosocial Model of Health: A Case Study

Running head: BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF HEALTH
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF HEALTH
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BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF HEALTH
For many years, healthcare professionals have followed the biomedical models of
health to treat patients. However, recent day researchers state that only managing the
biological determinants of health among patients cannot provide comprehensive care to
patients and hence they cannot achieve quality lives (Zhou et al., 2018). Biopsychosocial
model of health describes of the healthcare approach where professionals need to identify,
manage and cure the biological, social as well as psychological determinants of health so that
holistic care can be provided to patients ensuring them to gain satisfaction with their health
from their lives. Diabetes had become one of the most dreadful chronic disorders affecting
huge amount of people in the nation. It had contributed to enormous disease burden on the
economic condition of the nation along with poor quality lives of people living with the
disorder (Joensen et al., 2016). Therefore, healthcare professionals need to be aware of all the
determinants of health that contribute to diabetes among people and then develop their care
plan accordingly helping to manage each of the determinants successfully. This assignment
will be discussing each of the determinants of diabetes in details that would help
professionals to develop more knowledge about the disorder.
Biological determinants:
Physical health:
Pancreatic cells called the beta cells found in the islets of Langerhans are responsible
for producing insulin. This hormone helps in maintaining the blood glucose level by helping
the body cells in becoming proactive in absorbing glucose from blood and take part in
respiration to produce energy (Pagani et al., 2018). This energy is important for the
functioning of the organs systems and physiological processes of the body. When an
individual is affected by diabetes type-2, it is seen that the cells of the body become resistant
to insulin and no longer responds to insulin. As a result, they cannot accept the glucose

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present in the blood. Therefore, the blood glucose levels increases and the tissue systems start
getting deprived of energy and hence cannot function well. When insulin realised from
pancreatic cells also increases because of not being utilised by cells, they increase in amount.
This send negative feedback signals to pancreatic cells and this causes stopping of release of
insulin as well further worsening the conditions (Mehta & Kapoor, 2018). In course of time,
the organs start becoming deprived of energy and cannot function well resulting in various
forms of complications. Kidney disorders and nephropathy, neuropathy, eye disorders like
retinal neuropathy, glaucoma, foot ulcers and many others are seen to take place.
Genetic vulnerability:
Studies are of the opinion that individuals who are suffering from diabetes type-2
have higher chances that one or more people on their families have also suffered the same
disorder (Gemeay et al., 2015). Loose et al. (2018) had found that genetic mutations interact
with the environment as well as with each other’s thereby resulting in the increasing of the
risk factors for developing diabetes type-2 in individuals. They are also of the opinion that is
is not possible to separate the risk factors from the environmental risks as the latter gets
influences by the family members. For example, parents might pass on the habit of unhealthy
eating to their wards and this in turn might influence the mutated gene for effective digestion
procedure resulting in accumulation of fat and increasing chances of obesity and diabetes.
Different genes that are found to be mutated in diabetes individuals are the genes that help in
production of glucose, those associated with production and regulation of insulin, and those
which help in sensing glucose levels in the body (Kalra, Gupta & Das, 2015). Some genes
that have been found to be associated are TCF7L2 that affect secretion of insulin as well as
production of glucose, ABCC8 that helps in regulating insulin. Others are CAPN10 that
remains associated with type-2 diabetes as in case of Mexican Americans, GLUT2 that helps
in removing glucose into the pancreas. Thereby, genetic mutations along with influence from

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BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF HEALTH
the environmental factors can take active part in development of diabetes type-2 in vulnerable
individuals.
Exposure:
A number of lifestyle factors are seen to be intricately associated with the
development of the disorder. Studies have found that obesity, smoking, unhealthy diet and
lack of physical inactivity are some of the factors that expose vulnerable individuals to the
development of the disorder of diabetes type-2. Lack of physical exercises, unhealthy diet
and similar other lifestyle habits increase the chance of weight fain and fat accumulation
resulting in obesity (Mirghani and Elbadawi, 2016). These make cells of the body accumulate
fat and this makes them develop resistance to insulin developing diabetes. Hence, obesity
plays a risk factor for individuals who are vulnerable to develop the disorder. Smoking also
causes diabetes as it can change the ways by which body processes and regulates sugar.
Smoking can also make it harder in controlling blood sugar level when individuals are
already affected by diabetes type-2. Hence, such factors need to manage effectively by
healthcare professionals to manage and prevent diabetes. Some other factors that also expose
individuals to development of diabetes are acanthosis nigricans ( a skin disorder that makes
skin look darker than usual), high levels of cholesterol, hypertension, pre-diabetes,
triglyceride levels greater than 250 or greater, polycystic ovarian syndromes and others. All
these factors need to be managed by nurses so that proper management of diabetes can be
done in affected patient (Zhang et al., 2017).