Medical Model of Illness
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23622214 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kevin White (0000-0002-4328-8185) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Pages | 1-2 |
| Publication date | 2017-12-04 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781118430873.est0240 |
| OpenAlex | W4251248224 |
| ISBN | 9781118430873 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 1 |
The medical model, pivotal to biomedical practice, underpins the way in which sickness and disease is understood within wider society. That is, most of us usually believe that being sick is a straightforward physical event. Dominant since the rise of early germ theory (Pasteur, Koch), the medical model sees illness as a consequence of a germ (virus, parasite, or bacteria) entering the body and causing it to malfunction. The solution to the problem lies in taking professional medical advice and, usually, some form of medication that eradicates the offending organism and restores the body to a stable physical state.
Disease · Event (particle physics) · Germ theory of disease · Medical advice · Pathology · Physical illness · Psychiatry · Medicine · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
|---|