Health and Social Care Issues: Social Model vs Medical Model Essay

In 1946 the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This definition integrates the main concepts of health and identifies that health can be viewed differently by individuals and groups (Bowden, 2006). Health and well-being are the result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual and emotional factors (Dunkley, 2000a).

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

Naidoo and Wills(2001, p.47) “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ - WHO (1946).” This definition falls into a holistic way of defining health, which believes that there are more areas to look at when thinking of health than just simply the absence of a disease. It considers the cause of why someone is ill and not just simply about ’fixing it’.

Overtime the understanding of human society has been seen and described in many different perspectives. With new concepts and point of views backed by research and study, sociology continues to be changed and adjusted as we learn more about humanity every day. But the interesting thing is, that the way sociology changes, is similar to the way many things in life change over time as well. For example, in this paper we will look at the medicalization of society through its three main perspectives, and see that they work hand in hand. The medicalization of society is constantly changing due to ever-growing technology and discoveries. We continue to learn more and more each day about both sociology and medicalization which is why it is easy for us to put them both into the same perspective together. The medicalization of society can be explained through the three main sociological perspectives allowing us to better understand and analysis each concept for its own different meaning.

But over the past few decades, the definititon and concept of health has evolved to encompass more elements than just the physical well-being of a person. This is partly attributed to various researches and studies that have taken place around the world in the last 60 years. Already in 1948, the World Health Organization declared that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not

 Explain basic features of a sociological approach to health and  illness  Describe the key

The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult

By looking at what different people say about health, it is clear that each one look at it differently. Therefore, there are many ways to define health. When we look at health, all physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects should be considered because they all affect our health equally. Health can be defined in many ways, positively, negatively and holistically. It depends on how the individuals look at their health and how concerned they are about it. Our state of healthiness will depend on many things such as where do we live, what job do we do, what do we eat, who are our friends and everything else related to our lifestyle. Our choice about our lifestyle can make a difference to our health. If we are interested enough in ourselves, we can improve our own health. Some people think, that it depends only on the health care we obtain; however, it doesn't only depend on this. It is connected to our lifestyle as well.

Before I introduce these concepts it is important I introduce as to where these two theories developed from. In the late nineteenth century, two German philosophers, by the name Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who developed and laid out the foundations and methodology Marxism. According to Ted Trainer, “Marx gave us a theory of society, i.e , an explanation of how society works, of how and why history has unfolded, and especially an account of the nature of capitalism. These are of great value for the task of describing what is going on in the world and for understanding the problems and directions of our society today (Trainer 2010).” Marxism is a method that is known worldwide; it is a method in which focuses on class relations and conflict within society to suppress the individuals at the lower end of the economic ladder. This methodology uses economic and the politics within society to decipher and explore the development of capitalism and the role class plays’ in the economic system. According to their analysis, conflict within the

The World Health Organisation defined health: “State of complete physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO, 1946 p.100). Many factors influence health such as family traits, behaviours, access to quality healthcare and environment (quality of air, bad/good water and housing conditions) (WHO, 1946). The holistic view of health combines the mind (mental), body (physical), emotional and spiritual elements to a person (Ewes & Simnett, 2003).

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948.)

What does the word health mean? According to Reutter & Eastlick Kusher (2014), World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (p. 2). Depending on the situation, certain individual may have a different perception of the meaning of health. However, the definition of health by the WHO will best fit the purpose of this paper. There are a lot of factors that can influence a person’s health. These factors are also called Social Determinants of Health. Braveman & Gottlieb (2014) states that, “The World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health has defined SDH as ‘the conditions in which people are born, grow,

According to WHO (world health organization) "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

Health is "a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO 1948).

Discuss what is meant by medicalisation and in what ways we can consider diseases to be socially constructed.