ASSIGNMENT : Health, Illness and Society

Critically discuss the biomedical model and social model of health and how they relate to lay perspectives on health and illness.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Critical Discussion of Biomedical and Social Models in Health and Their Relationship in Laying a Perspective in Illness and Health

Health is defined as the state of complete social, physical, and mental wellness and not just a mere nonexistence of disability or illness (Cockerham, 2014). Nonetheless, this is an out-dated definition, and modern healthcare providers believe that health is a more complex status that cannot only be defined in the three categories. This paper discusses how approaches to health and their relationships to biomedical and social models. The interrelationship is based on lay beliefs and how they help in identifying a perspective in health and illness.

Biomedical Model

The biomedical approach is the first model in defining human health, and it came about during the era of ‘enlightenment.’ This was a period when the natural phenomenon was interpreted in scientific ways rather than through beliefs and spiritual principles. The field of science and medicine gained popularity and became the basic principle of interpreting diseases and illnesses (Wade & Halligan, 2004). The social model is the second approach, and it suggests that scientific and medical interventions are only a part of explaining the existence of diseases and that it is also imperative to take into account the social and environmental factors in defining health (McKeown, 2014). The biomedical model is a way of referring to health and explaining the existence of diseases in western cultures based on biological features. According to Cockerham (2014), it is apparent that has approach has several defining…