ISSN : IJCMI
International Journal of
Clinical & Medical Imaging
Volume 1 • Issue 4 • 1000183
April, 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/ijcmi.1000183
Graphical Abstract
Title: Bio-psychosocial Model of Health
Zakir Uddin1
1
School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
In 1946 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.” [4,5]. The definition reflected the Bio-psychosocial (BPS) model of health.
Moreover, in 1977, American Psychiatrist George L. Engel introduced a general theory of illness and healing [2,3] in the health
sector, the Bio-psychosocial (BPS) model (Figure 1). In fact within the BPS model, three basic criteria of unhealthy [1] are included: 1. ‘Disease’ conceptualized as a pathological term (Biological) 2. ‘Illness’ is thought as an internal, individual experience
(Psychological). 3. ‘Sickness’ is considered as an external, public mode involving interaction between the person, other people and
environment (Sociological). The BPS model interconnected biological, psychological, and sociological factors as a system of the
body and health which showed a dramatic shift in focus from disease to health.
References
1. Boyd KM (2000) Disease, illness, sickness, health, healing and wholeness: exploring some elusive concepts. Med Humanit 26: 9-17.
2. Engel GL (1977) The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science 196: 129-136.
3. Engel GL (1980) The clinical application of the biopsychosocial model. Am J Psychiatry 137: 535-544.
4. WHO (1946) [www.who.int/bulletin/archives/80 (12)981.pdf, WHO definition of Health], Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61
States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.
5. WHO (2006). Constitution of the World Health Organization - Basic Documents, Forty-fifth edition, Supplement, October 2006.
*Corresponding author: Z a k i r U d d i n , S c h o o l o f R e h a b i l i t a t i o n
Science, Faculty of Health Sciences PhD Candidate,
M c M a s t e r U n i v e r s i t y, H a m i l t o n , O N , C a n a d a , E - M a i l :
u d d i n z 2 @ m c m a s t e r. c a , z a k i r u @ g m a i l . c o m
Copyright: © 2014 Uddin Z. This is an open-access article distributed
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