Sociology Assignment: Healthcare Models and Human Rights Analysis

This sociology assignment delves into two key healthcare models: the biomedical model, emphasizing germ theory, and the social model of health, focusing on societal determinants. It analyzes the evolution and application of these models within the Australian healthcare context. The assignment further examines health and human rights, highlighting the importance of safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable healthcare. It explores challenges such as resource allocation, technological advancements, and human resource shortages, advocating for governmental and stakeholder collaboration to improve healthcare delivery and ensure patient rights. The paper stresses the need for efficient healthcare systems and underscores the importance of addressing social, economic, and political factors to achieve better health outcomes for all individuals in Australia.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
Sociology Assignment
Student’s name
Name of the Institute

SOCIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
Topic 1: Models of Healthcare
Introduction
In recent times, there has been various advancements in the field of healthcare. The
healthcare delivery has become complex and the objective of government and other stakeholders
is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery (Barbour, 1997). The
objective of this paper is to discuss the models of healthcare. The two key models of healthcare
that would be discussed in this paper are biomedical model of healthcare and the social model of
health.
Analysis
There are different models of healthcare based on the specific way in which healthcare
system is divided. One of the traditional and widely used model of health care is biomedical
model of healthcare. This model of biomedical is based on the germ theory. The advocates of
this model of healthcare suggests that any illness is caused by the germs and therefore, the effort
should be made to eliminate the germs (Germov, 2005). The central idea of this model is that
germs enter human body through water, food or air. This model was widely used in the early
twentieth century and with this model the objective was to figure out the root cause of various
infectious diseases. The underlying assumption with this model is that every illness has a cause
that could be attributed to germs and the illness affects the human body in a standard and
predictable manner (Germov, 2005).

SOCIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
Another widely used model of healthcare is the social model of health. The social model
of health is relatively new than the biomedical model of health. This model of social model of
health is also known as the public health model. With this model, the focus is to make efforts to
improve the health of society at large (Barbour, 1997). With this model, the emphasis is to
identify the social determinants of health and make efforts to develop a healthy society. The
advocates of social model of health suggests that health is social responsibility of government
and it is important that the government should make efforts to improve the health of community
members. The underlying assumption of social model of health is that the social, economic,
political, social, etc. factors are responsible for the health of a person (Barbour, 1997).
Conclusion
The above paper discusses the two key health models. Essentially, any government or
any stakeholder can use any of the above or any third model to assess the health conditions of
people in the society. The key thing is that different stakeholder must join hands to improve the
healthcare delivery in the country and make Australia as better place to live.

SOCIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
Topic 2: Health & Human Rights
Introduction
The health care system in any country is one of the most important industry for any
government. There is an increased focus of Australian Government on health care industry.
However, these efforts are not enough to meet the expectations of all the stakeholders. It is
correct to say that the health care enterprise is one of the most important parts of the Australian
social system and of our economic system as well. The issue of health and human rights is an
interesting issue to debate. There have been various debates around the health and human rights.
It would be correct to say that health care quality improvement is the focus of the policy makers
in the country and this effort falls within the human right (Hunt, 2006). The objective of this
paper is to discuss the health and human rights that patients and the members of society at large
should have.
Analysis
In Australia, health care delivery happens through private and public players. The
external environmental factors have deep impact on health care delivery. The political factor is
one of the most important external factor as government act as the guardian of public health
(Hunt, 2006). It is important that health rights of human are intact and not compromised in any
of the health delivery mechanism. The health rights and the human rights of patients are based on
the six objectives. The six aims of health and human rights are safe, effective, patient-centered,
timely, efficient, and equitable. A health care system that achieves major gains in these six areas
would be far better at meeting patient needs. By efficient it means avoiding waste, including
waste of equipment, supplies, ideas, and energy. There is a desperate need to make our

SOCIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
healthcare systems more efficient. The efficiency can be improved with an increase use of health
care technology. The strategy to focus on health care technology would certainly be beneficial
for health care organizations in long term. However, the challenge is to manage the short-term
cost. In addition, the human resource shortage is also a challenge to manage the health rights of
humans in an effective manner (Ivanov & Oden, 2013).
It is also important to mention that different section of the society should be given a
platform where they can manage or execute their health rights. It essentially means that our
healthcare system should not be biased towards any particular group or section (Ivanov & Oden,
2013). The government would need to make certain intervention to ensure that health rights of
humans are well preserved.
Conclusion
The above paper discusses the human and health rights of individuals. Based on the
above discussion it can be said that it is critical that the private players, public players and other
stakeholders should come together to overcome the issues. Here government must act as a
facilitator that could provide a platform where different stakeholders can work together.

SOCIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT
References
Barbour, A. (1997). Caring for patients: A critique of the medical model. Stanford University
Press.
Germov, J. (2005). Imagining health problems as social issues. Second Opinion, 3-24.
Hunt, P. (2006). The human right to the highest attainable standard of health: new opportunities
and challenges. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and
Hygiene, 100(7), 603-607.
Ivanov, L. L., & Oden, T. L. (2013). Public health nursing, ethics and human rights. Public
Health Nursing, 30(3), 231-238.