Comparison of Psychological and Biomedical Models of Health and Illness

This essay compares and contrasts the psychological and biomedical models of health and illness, highlighting their importance in healthcare and their impact on individuals' well-being. Explore the advantages and disadvantages of each model and their implications for treatment and recovery.

INTRODUCTION TO
HEALTH AND SOCIAL
CARE
1

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Compare and contrast between psychological and biomedical models of health and illness......3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
Health and social care are established in order to provide various social services to
individual for better health and safety of people living in the society. This report is an essay on
comparison and contrast psychological and biomedical model of health and illness. It aim is to
explains importance of health and social care in uplifting living standard of people and economic
development of country.
Compare and contrast between psychological and biomedical models of health and illness
Bio medical model of health and illness is a scientific method that is used to measure
health and various related diseases due to biological reason. Therefore such people can be treated
and handled through independent and positive thinking or external consideration. Treatment of
individual need to be taken at good environment where all technologies are available under
expert and special professional that have high knowledge and skill for better health and safety of
people. As per biomedical model illness is what is experienced by patients at the time of
breakdown or it is state that describe person is not thinking and feeling well (Alston and Bowles,
2019). Whereas diseases are abnormality with body and its part that is treated by doctors thus
professional that have high knowledge and skill need to take care of such people. Biomedical
model explains that ill health of individual is due to biological factors and choices of lifestyle
such as unhealthy diets, smoking and lack of exercise. Thus doctor while using biomedical
model analysis and evaluates various biological reason behind particular diseases and doctors
treat the patient through external measures and independent of their mind. In western countries
biomedical model is treated as modern way for health care professional in order to treat various
conditions and diagnose. People that have fit physical, mental and social healthy are termed as
health people as they can perform various activities with lot of energy. It stated that person need
to be provide better environment, hygiene condition, proper nutrition and food products in order
to ensure health and safety of people. Biomedical method has changed policies, procedure and
practice of NHS that was defined by health care services thereby replaced traditional method to
treat people (Jumaa and Alleyne, 2017). Many of practitioners are provide training that
biomedical model is an appropriate and suitable method to treat sick bodies. Therefore it can be
illustrated from above definition of Biomedical that it is one of the effective method to enhance
and improve health of individual.
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Biomedical model has various advantages such as it is supported by scientific research and
proved beyond reasonable doubts. It provides clear and appropriate guideline related to recovery
and better treatment which is most concerned of patients. As we all know that illness is
behaviour or feeling of individual that disrupt various function of society such as when people
fall ill they take rest and avoid performing different types of activities and normal life cycle
(Greenhalgh, 2018). On basis of illness doctor prescribed patient to take rest and proper
nutrition so that better health can be maintained thus such perspective of doctor to take rest and
enjoy environment helps in improvement of health of people. But it also depend upon disease
that happen to people such as if someone has get ill because of too drinking than biological
model can support individual to recover its health. Biomedical model stated that specialist
medical equipment and good environment is provide to patients so that it can easily and quickly
recover from diseases. Under this model people are provide with best possible treatment and
effective guideline so that patients can recover from diseases.
Disadvantages of biomedical model are that most of patients like to have treatment through
new and innovative technology. There are various criticism of biomedical model such as it link
overall health of person with environment and social changes instead of medical health care.
Some of the businesses are given permission by government of country to start selling products
and services that are harmful for health of people such as alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes.
Another point that need to be considered that lack of investment in hospitals, schools and
housing and unequal income distribution had impact on welfare of people and their health
(Bartley, 2016). Most of the pharmaceutical companies are not interested to find effective cure
for various problems as they think it might cut down their profit margin and reduce their sales.
As per view of Ivan most of medical treatment had side effects thus create more illness than
before.
Therefore biomedical model is used to overview health and illness of people by
considering wider factors -poverty, population, poor life choice and limited resource. All such
factors shape physical, mental health of individual so proper environment need to be provided to
people in order to ensure their health.
On the other hand psychosocial model of health and illness explains about various health
related behaviour of an individual such as relationship of doctor with its patients and belief and
trust within patients regarding illness. It also includes healthy eating habit of person and its social
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relationship with its family members, friends and relative. Health psychology included main two
factors such as behaviour health focus and behaviour medicines focus. Behaviour health stated
that people can be protected from various illness and health problem by focusing on positive
behaviour. Whereas behaviour medicine is used for treatment of various health problems such as
healthy nutrition, proper exercise and medical decision in order for better health and safety of
people. Psychological factors stated social condition such as social support, influence of culture,
family relationship of patients (Shardlow, 2016). Therefore in it healthcare professional work
with psychologist in order to provide emotional, psychological support to people related to
various health and illness issues. Various protocol are made for treatment of individual such as
weight loss program and smoking cessation so it can be stated that program are designed in order
to promote healthy lifestyles such as proper nutrition and exercise. It helps individual to stay fit
and healthy for longer period of time by continuously focusing on two aspects that is proper
nutrition and exercise. Focus of health psychology is to address various issues of people such as
clinical, community, critical that can be termed as social justice and public. Clinical health
psychology is special practices that are used by clinical psychologist in order to provide
emotional support to patients and understand behaviour of various individual. It is also a type of
application that has scientific knowledge so that clinical question can be easily solved in
different healthcare. Thus, objective of clinical psychology is to prevent and treat various health
problems that are faced by people. Community health psychosocial analysis and evaluated
various community factors that helps in effective health and well-being of individual. It helps in
effective physical and mental health of person by informing about various events of diabetes and
to avoid use of soft drink or to intake health diet and food to stay health and fit. Public health
psychology is used to identify link between health of large number of people and psychosocial
factors. Various health policy and information is provided to large public in order to promote
public health initiatives. Critical health psychology analysis impact of differentiate power and
distribution power on health policy, healthcare system and health behaviour. It stated that
everyone has right to stay health and fit irrespective of gender, caste, religion, ages and
socioeconomic position of every individual (Tsai, O'Toole and Kearney, 2017). Therefore health
care psychologist need to work in order to provide equal opportunity to all people to access
health care. Thus it helps in ensuring health and safety of every individual can and promotes
economic growth and development. Psychological components can be analysed from various
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symptoms such as irritation, overwhelming and feeling of sadness among people. It can also be
illustrated that social and culture factors impact adversely on mental and physical health of
particular individual. There are various goals of health psychology in order to ensure better
health of people such as improve communication between doctors and patient so that it can be
emotionally supported and motivated to stay positive and health. Another objective is to analysis
health policies and various measures that can be taken in order to prevent diseases and illness
(Henderson and et.al., 2019). Finding various ways and method for treatment of pain and
improving medical advices in order to effectively cruel patients. One of the main goals of health
psychosocial is to identify and understand various factors such as behaviour and contextual that
impact on health and illness of people. Therefore it can be illustrated from above analysis that
Psychosocial model of illness is study of various factors that formulate behaviour and thinking of
individual and impact on health and wellness of individual.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that there are two models of health and illness
that can be used by social health care to support health of people. It can also be explained from
above analysis that psychosocial model states various social factors that impact on health and
illness of Individual. Whereas biomedical model illustrated that there are various external factors
and mind set of individual that make it ill and unhealthy.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Alston, M. and Bowles, W., 2019. Research for social workers: An introduction to methods.
Routledge.
Bartley, M., 2016. Health inequality: an introduction to concepts, theories and methods. John
Wiley & Sons.
Coast, J., Bailey, C., Canaway, A. and Kinghorn, P., 2016. Measuring and valuing outcomes for
care at the end of life: the capability approach. In Care at the End of Life (pp. 89-101).
Adis, Cham.
Greenhalgh, P., 2018. How to improve success of technology projects in health and social
care. Public Health Research and Practice, 28(3).
Henderson, F and et.al., 2019. Social enterprise, social innovation and self-directed care: lessons
from Scotland. Social Enterprise Journal.
Jumaa, M. O. and Alleyne, J., 2017. Strategic Leadership in Health Care in Challenging
Times. Organisation Development in Health Care: Strategic Issues in Health Care
Management.
Shardlow, S. M., 2016. Educating professionals: Practice learning in health and social care.
Routledge.
Tsai, J., O'Toole, T. and Kearney, L. K., 2017. Homelessness as a public mental health and social
problem: New knowledge and solutions. Psychological services, 14(2). p.113.
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