Bio medical Model vs The Psycho-Socio-environmental model

(A)
The Bio-Medical Model is known as a set of principles underpinning western medical systems and practices. The Psycho-socio Environmental Model on the other hand is known for its promotion of health through socio-environmental and behavioral changes.
In both very different models, the main objective which is to get the patient better is shared. Before any form of treatment is finalized, all visible symptoms are first observed and analyzed in order to come up with a diagnosis. Both focus on the health and wellbeing of the patient and not only on the diseases or illnesses.
The Bio-Medical model believes in the passive treatment of patients in such a manner that they do not contribute in their diagnosis or treatment of their ailments whereas the Psycho-Socio-Environmental model believes that the doctor-patient relationship should be on a more personal level, with both parties having equal decision making power. This is exactly where the main difference between the two models lies. The Bio-medical model suggests that a patient’s body can be treated like a machine (in other words “fixed”), thus medicine adopts a mechanical metaphor with the doctor as the mechanic. The Psycho-Socio-Environmental model focuses on both the patient’s physical and sociological wellbeing.
In the Bio-Medical Model, body and mind can be treated separately, this form of treatment is known as medicine’s mind/body dualism. The mind/body dualism form of treatment however does not exist in the Psycho-Socio-Environmental Model since holistic treatment is taken as the primary principle of treatment; this means that the patient as a whole is treated i.e. both body and mind are treated-equally. The Bio-Medical Model stresses the point that there can only be one cause to a disease, this is known as the Doctrine of specific aetriology. The Psycho-Socio-Environmental model however argues that there cannot be only one cause to a particular disease or illness but a number of factors work together in bringing about a particular disease; this can also be observed in cases in which a person has a migraine which could be caused by stress together with lack of sleep.
(B)
Kwashiorkor is a form of malnutrition caused by protein deficiency in the diet, typically affecting young children in the tropics. Even though stated in the definition, it does not only affect those children in tropical regions only but in all regions of the world that are predominated by malnutrition and food insecurity.
The most vital question to ask is how long the patient, in this case the kid has been showing the symptoms. The other thing of equal importance is to take the history of the kid’s dietary intake since the main cause of kwashiorkor is improper dietary intake. After all this has been done and a conclusion about the kid’s health has been made, advice can therefore be given to the kid’s guardian about what to do in order to overcome the situation at hand.
The guardian together with the child should be referred to a dietician to get advice about proper dietary intake. The family should also consider changing their meal plans since they are evidently unhealthy. Some of the effects of the disorder however cannot be reversed, such as the weight and height of the child being under than that which is considered normal so both the child and the guardian should be aware of this.