The Similarities and Differences between the Biomedical and Social Models of Health - Essay Example

? HEALTH INEQUALITIES Part If a society has to develop an understanding of health and how people should improve it, it is wise to peg definitions of health based on factors such as culture, age, gender and social standing. The models professionals use are different when deciding if a person is healthy or not. In western cultures, the biomedical method determines the presence of an illness; the body and mind are completely different. This paper will discuss the similarities and differences between the biomedical and social models of health and give a deeper insight into their key components. To begin with, the social model is more of how society and environment affect people’s well-being. Examples of such factors are income, diet, poverty, poor housing and cultures. It empowers people on how to be responsible for their lifestyles to make the population in general healthier by changing the environmental factors to allow for healthy choices. The biomedical model defines bad health as the appearance of a disease and ill symptoms resulting from injuries and infections. According to Popay (2012), the two are similar in that they do educate the society on preventing diseases from occurring. They also focus on saving the lives of patients and provide counseling to services on what to do when ailing from a disease. Some of their differences may also be discussed where it is necessary that the biomedical model of health focuses on eradication of illness via diagnosis and treatment that is effective. It takes the body as a machine and works on the theory that if part of the body has problems it has to be fixed or repaired just like in a machine. Blane (2012) adds that the social model emphasizes changes in society people that people must always make to improve their lives. The biomedical model deals with a particular disease that has particular therapy for a cure; here, what is analyzed at is the cause of the illness rather than informing the patient on how it all occurred so that they can avoid making the same mistakes once more. A good example is that of a drunkard who is normally diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. The person may not be told whether it is caused by excessive drinking of alcohol and eventually would not know not to drink again which makes them ever ill in the long term. According to Elstad (2011), the social model is normally based on meeting people's basic needs so as to achieve health gains. It uses medical knowledge to treat all unhealthy patients and is very persuasive; if a doctor advises the patient on something, they are highly likely to take on the treatment without questioning the doctor. Moreover, in the biomedical model, medicine and science are both used with no consideration to social factors in line with the causes of the disease. The doctor is the one who decides if a person is suffering from a disease through a scientific process. According to Wilkinson (2011), the patients may be allowed to make choices concerning their health where the advice is certainly based on the treatment but not obliged to go through it. Due to the high cost of most treatments and this model has financial funding from the government while the biomedical one has little or none. Bartley (2011) acknowledges that the main advantage of the social model of health is that it looks at root causes of illnesses and therefore tries to change factors that caused the disease to prevent re-infection. It is not just about sending the patient away with a bottle of medical pills until the next time they become sick once more. On the other hand, Bartley (2011) says the model takes a lot of time to look for the origin of the illness and also a prevention method to stoop its occurrence once more. When it comes to the biomedical model, some of its advantages include its broad use in most countries so treatment offered is similar in the countries. It is very effective at treating and diagnosing illnesses because it uses modern medical technology-centered equipment which aids in the healing process. Comstock (2004) says that there is immediate and direct intervention of an illness and the benefits of treatment are visible to all. It also identifies and provides treatment through symptoms observed which results in health restoration for the patient. On the negative side, it is very costly and certain people cannot afford it and lastly, it focuses on the cure of an illness rather than prevention of diseases. In conclusion, both models have their beliefs, but the social model offers a more holistic approach in health by looking at the environment with an aim of preventing an illness before it appears. On the other hand, the biomedical model is also important because medicine science would not be as advanced compared to the past. According to Putnam (2012), both models should be used to provide better needed quality of health services. Part 2 Sociologists always gear towards explaining health inequalities due to various reasons, stemming from the individual front and also the societal realm. Due to the strong influence coming from outside the health sector on health and the well being, the health sector is not the only one that is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the population’s effective action. According to Putnam (2012), the only essential factors of determining people’s health are the level of physical activity and what they eat, access to education, good housing and employment. Collaborative actions by stakeholders that join sectors across should to provide very effective solutions to all health problems. In order for the population’s health to be improved, some stakeholders will have to accept their responsibilities for the problems faced in health due to their actions and join hands with the public health sector while the public health sector aims at leading and supporting the collaborative approach. This can only be resolved by a wide assortment of individual, societal, and also national components. According to Aspinall (2011), access to health awareness is a whole generational issue that gears towards demonstrating the level of administration which the human services framework offers to every individual. The access and also availability of efficient medical care always varies in line with the postulated need that is imminent in the population that the latter can be served. Behavioral concerns There are social class distinctions in health that greatly affect the way people can access the healthcare systems. These include the dietary decisions, consumption of various drugs, liquor and tobacco, dynamic recreation time schedules, vaccination, contraception and antenatal administrations. On the other hand, long haul research works have discovered that the various variations in health behavioral systems illustrate a handful of social class contrasts in mortality. Wilkinson (2011) says that assessments of mediations that try to change health patterns have once in a while discovered obvious improvements in health that might be anticipated by the behavioral model. Materialist concerns Poverty heads people to health risks. Poor individuals are more inclined to live in places where they are normally open to damage. A good example can be air-contamination and also soggy lodging. The Black Report discovered realist clarifications as the most critical aspect in demonstrating social class differences in the field of health. According to Bartley (2008), there is some particular evidence in line with real descriptions. A good example can be a variety of studies which have embraced higher rates of adolescence respiratory sickness towards clammy lodging. The full impact of living models might just be grasped in the entire compass of the life term. According to Wonderling (2005), specialists out in the public health concur that most of the descriptions assume a part in clarifying health disparities. However, a big number of specialists discover a straightforward realist model as inadequate. In the UK moderately burdened individuals from gaining different types of state assistance. It should be noted that, some of these types makes diet poor towards lodging unrealistic especially in recording all favoritisms of health conclusions. However, in the UK and globally, imbalances in health have a tendency to cause a consistent angle. On the contrary, there may be poor results for the most distraught as well as exceptional conclusions for whatever is not included in relation to social order. Psycho social concerns Social disparity might influence how individuals feel which is mostly influenced by science. Distressing social circumstances normally prepare enthusiastic reactions which realize organic progressions that build danger of coronary illness. According to Acheson (2012), psycho-social danger figures incorporate social backing, control and self-governance at work. Psycho-social danger may also function as the parity between home and work as well as the equalization between exertions and prizes. It is worth noting that, there has been a plenty of exploration investigating companionships between psycho-social components and health. Conclusion In conclusion, confirmation indicates that individuals who have exceptional associations with both family and companions have longer futures than the individuals who moderately segregated. Acquaintanceship evidence between anxiety at work and health is less clear but most decently conducted studies show higher risks of coronary illness around workers where requests are high while the control is low. According to Scambler (2008), various studies have demonstrated that an irregularity between both exertion and reward has a tendency to be connected to high blood pressure. Reference List Acheson, D.P. (2012). Independent inquiry into inequalities in health report. London: The Stationary Office. Aspinall, P.J. (2011). 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