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The medical model of disability, or medical model, is based in a biomedical perception of
disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
. This model links a disability diagnosis to an individual's physical body. The model supposes that this disability may reduce the individual's
quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
and aims to diminish or correct this disability with medical intervention. It is often contrasted with the social model of disability. The medical model focuses on curing or managing illness or disability. By extension, the medical model supposes a "compassionate" or
just Just or JUST may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Just (surname) * Just (given name) Arts and entertainment * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead * "Just", a song from the album '' Lost and Found'' by Mudvayn ...
society invests resources in health care and related services in an attempt to cure or manage disabilities ''medically''. This is in an aim to expand functionality and/or improve functioning, and to allow disabled persons a more "normal" life. The
medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
profession's responsibility and potential in this area is seen as central.


History

Before the introduction of the
biomedical model The biomedical model of medicine is the current dominating model of illness used in most Western healthcare settings, and is built from the perception that a state of health is defined purely in the absence of illness. The biomedical model contrasts ...
, patients relaying their narratives to the doctors was paramount. Through these narratives and developing an intimate relationship with the patients, the doctors would develop treatment plans in a time when diagnostic and treatment options were limited. This could particularly be illustrated with aristocratic doctors treating the elite during the 17th and 18th century. In 1980, the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
(WHO) introduced a framework for working with disability, publishing the "International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps". The framework proposed to approach disability by using the terms Impairment, Handicap and Disability. * Impairment = a loss or abnormality of physical bodily structure or function, of logic-psychic origin, or physiological or anatomical origin *Disability = any limitation or function loss deriving from impairment that prevents the performance of an activity in the time lapse considered normal for a human being *Handicap = the disadvantaged condition deriving from impairment or disability limiting a person performing a role considered normal in respect of age, sex and social and cultural factors


Components and usage

While
personal narrative Personal narrative (PN) is a prose narrative relating personal experience usually told in first person; its content is nontraditional. "Personal" refers to a story from one's life or experiences. "Nontraditional" refers to literature that does ...
is present in interpersonal interactions, and particularly dominant in Western Culture, personal narrative during interactions with medical personnel is reduced to relaying information about specific symptoms of the disability to medical professionals. The medical professionals then interpret the information provided about the disability by the patient to determine a diagnosis, which likely will be linked to biological causes. Medical professionals now define what is "normal" and what is "abnormal" in terms of biology and disability. In some countries, the medical model of disability has influenced legislation and policy pertaining to persons with disabilities on a national level. The
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a classification of the health components of functioning and disability. The ICF received approval from all 191 World Health Organization (WHO) member states on May 22 ...
(ICF), published in 2001, defines disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. Disability is the interaction between individuals with a health condition (such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and depression) and personal and environmental factors (such as negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social supports). The altered language and words used show a marked change in emphasis from talking in terms of disease or impairment to talking in terms of levels of health and functioning. It takes into account the social aspects of disability and does not see disability only as a 'medical' or 'biological' dysfunction. That change is consistent with widespread acceptance of the social model of disability.


Criticism

The medical model focuses on individual intervention and treatment as the proper approach to disability. Emphasis is placed on the disability rather than the systems and structures that inhibit the lives of people with disabilities. Under the medical model, disabled bodies are depicted as deviant, pathological, and defective, thus, best understood in medical terms. The history and future of disability are severely constricted, focusing solely on medical implications and ignoring very real social constructions contributing to the experience of disability. Alternatively, the social model presents disability less as an objective fact of the body and mind, and positions it in terms of social relations. Among advocates of
disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...
, who tend to subscribe to the social model instead, the medical model of disability is often cited as the basis of an unintended social
degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradatio ...
of disabled people. Resources are seen as excessively misdirected towards an almost-exclusively medical focus when those same resources could potentially be used towards things like
universal design Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the ma ...
and societal inclusionary practices. This includes the monetary and societal costs and benefits of various interventions, be they medical, surgical, social or occupational, from
prosthetics In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
, drug-based and other "cures", and medical tests such as genetic screening or
preimplantation genetic diagnosis Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) is the genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation (as a form of embryo profiling), and sometimes even of oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD is considered in a similar fashion to prenatal ...
. According to disability rights advocates, the medical model of disability is used to justify large investment in these procedures, technologies and research, when adaptation of the disabled person's environment could potentially be more beneficial to the society at large, as well as financially cheaper and physically more attainable. Also, some disability rights groups see the medical model of disability as a
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
issue and criticise
charitable organizations A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...
or medical initiatives that use it in their portrayal of disabled people, because it promotes a pitiable, essentially negative, largely disempowered image of people with disabilities rather than casting disability as a political, social and environmental problem (see also the
political slogan The following is a list of notable political slogans. Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A * Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections * ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...
"
Piss On Pity "Piss on Pity" is a slogan coined by musician Johnny Crescendo (Alan Holdsworth) in 1990 to protest stereotypes of disabled people. It was first deployed during the 1990 and 1992 Block Telethon protests outside of ITV Studios in the United Kingdo ...
").


See also

*
Cure A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...
* Medical model of autism *
Medicalization Medicalization is the process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions, and thus become the subject of medical study, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Medicalization can be driven by new evid ...
*
Models of deafness The three models of deafness are rooted in either social or biological sciences. These are the ''cultural model, the social model, and the'' ''medical'' (or ''infirmity'') ''model''. The model through which the deaf person is viewed can impact ho ...
*
Neurodiversity Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept ...


References


External links


The Open University: Making your teaching inclusive: The Medical Model
{{Disability navbox Disability Medical sociology Medical models Sociological theories Social theories