Biopsychosocial Medicine: An Integrated Approach to Understanding IllnessPeter White To what extent do social factors such as stress cause physical diseases? How do psychological and social factors contribute to the healing process? The biopsychosocial model is an approach to medicine which stresses the importance of a holistic approach. It considers factors outside the biological process of illness when trying to understand health and disease. In this approach, a person's social context and psychological well-being are keyfactors in their illness and recovery, along with their thoughts, beliefs and emotions. Biopsychosocial Medicine examines the concept and the utility of this approach from its history to its application, and from its philosophical underpinnings to the barriers to its implementation. It is severely critical of the failure of modern medicine to treat the patient not the disease, andits neglect of psychological and social factors in the treatment of the ill. Focusing on chronic disabling ill health, this book takes the examples of arthritis, cancer, diabetes, lower back pain, irritable bowel syndrome and depression to show how the biopsychosocial model can be used in practice. It questions why, even when the biopsychosocial approach has been proved tobe more effective than traditional methods in overcoming these disorders, is not more routinely used, and how barriers to its implementation can be overcome. Controversial and challenging, Biopsychosocial Medicine will be essential reading for all those who feel the biomedical model is failing them and their patients. It will enable readers to understand the model and how it can be implemented, in order to enhance their confidence and success as healthprofessionals. |
Contents
before | 1 |
The theoretical basis of the biopsychosocial model | 21 |
Remediable or preventable social factors in the aetiology | 39 |
Remediable or preventable psychological factors in the aetiology | 59 |
a note of caution | 77 |
Can neurobiology explain the relationship between stress | 103 |
Fear and depression as remediable causes of disability in common | 117 |
How important is the biopsychosocial approach? Some examples | 133 |
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abuse activity aetiology alternative medicine arthritis associated behaviour biological biomedical biopsychosocial model BPS approach BPS model brain cardiovascular disease causal causes cent Chalder chronic fatigue syndrome clinical cognitive Complementary and alternative complementary medicine confounding context controlled trial coronary heart disease corticosterone cytokines Davey Smith depression disability discussion disorders doctors Drossman effect Engel epidemiology evidence example experience exposure fear-avoidance beliefs functional Furnham healthcare illness important improve influence interactions interventions issue Korff levels Lightman look Lorig low back pain Marmot measures medical model mental mortality myocardial infarction patient-centred approach patients peptic ulcer perspective physical physicians placebo practitioners primary problem processes programme psychiatry psycho psychosocial factors Psychosom psychosomatic pylori randomized controlled trial randomized trial rats response risk factors role self-efficacy showed Smith G smoking social gradient Steptoe stress stressors symptoms syndrome systematic review talk therapy things treatment Wessely Whitehall study