Abstract
Jamaicans are not atypical in how they conceptualize health and/or how they address patient care as the antithesis of diseases or dysfunctions (i.e. health conditions). In the 1900s and earlier, Western Societies were using the biomedical model in the measurement and trea- tment of health, health attitudes and the utilization of health services. This approach emphasizes sickness, dysfunction, and the identification of symptomology or medical disorders to evaluate health and health care. Such an approach places significance on the end (i.e. genetic and physical conditions), instead of the multiplicity of factors that are likely to result in the existing state, or issues outside of the space of dysfunctions. Notwithstanding the limitations of the biomedical approach, it is still practiced by many Caribbean societies, and this is fundamentally the case in Jamaica. The current paper is an examination of health measurement, and provides at the same time a rationale for the need to have a more representative model as opposed to the one-dimensional approach of using pathogens in measuring health. Owing to the importance of health in development, patient care and its significance for other areas in society, this paper seeks to broaden more than just the construct, as it goes to the core of modern societies in helping them to understand the constitution of health and how patient care should be treated. Thus, it provides a platform for the adoption of the biopsychosocial model, which integrates biological, social, cultural, psychological and environmental conditions in the assessment of health and the outcome of research, by using observational survey data.
Highlights
The construct of health is more than a concept
If health is solely based on illnesses, we would have failed in our bid to operationally define a construct that is comprehensive enough to encapsulate all the tenets that would capture man in his complex milieu
If health care professionals were to use as their premise dysfunctions to indicate health, which is the deviation from the norm, this image of health would affect policy formulation and intervention programmes which are geared towards this narrow conceptualization
Summary
The construct of health is more than a concept It is a “leading characteristic of the members of a population...” [1] and, ergo, it plays a direct role in the images of health and health care. In addition to the aforementioned issues, it is of germane significance in aiding us to understand many of the things that we see. The definition of this single term “health” is important, as a precise use of the construct fashions and connects other important applications such as growth and development, productivity, health care and people’s expectations of health care professionals. Within the limitations of the biomedical model, the study will evaluate the usefulness of the biopsychosocial model in health and how the image of health influences the health care of people
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
