The biopsychosocial model is a philosophy of clinical care, as well as, a clinical guide in practice. The model is a way of understanding how illnesses and diseases are affected by the multiple levels of an organism all the way from the molecular to the society at large. Apart from that, it is also a way of understanding the patient's experience as a proper determinant to accurate diagnosis, excellent health outcomes, and human care (Wade & Halligan, 2017) . The model was developed as an alternative to the biomedical model that was being used at the time of its conception. It assumes that a healthy environment is the starting point of good health and includes the physical, social, economic, and cultural environments. Healthy behaviors are useful in maintaining emotional stability (Wade & Halligan, 2017) . The healthy behaviors include sleep, exercise, and proper nutrition. Responsive parenting also helps children to develop a healthy identity and have excellent interpersonal skills.
The biomedical model, on the other hand, focuses on the physical or biological aspects of disease and illnesses. It is mainly a medical model practiced mostly by clinicians to assess and diagnose cure and treatment of illnesses (Deacon & McKay, 2015) . The biomedical model emphasizes diagnosis and treating individuals separately from their way of life or their living conditions. It concentrates on the disease, illness, and disability and aims at returning the physical health of the person to as it was before illness-cure. It has two main aspects, diagnosis, and intervention (Deacon & McKay, 2015) . It assumes that all illnesses have a single underlying cause, pathology is always due to a singular purpose and removal of the cause of disease will always result in health.
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The leading cause of death affects the model to be used because the conditions that present more imminent danger require immediate attention and measures for prevention have to be set in place. The leading cause of death in the United States of America is heart disease and is even more common in men, smokers, overweight individuals, and those over the age of 55. Measures to reduce deaths due to cardiac problems have to be put in place and they mostly include lifestyle changes. In prevention of cardiac issues, the biopsychological model would best suit since it advocates for healthy mind, body, and social integration, unlike the biomedical model that focuses on the good health of the body (Wade & Halligan, 2017) . It is also helpful in the treatment of disease in cases where unhealthy lifestyles cause heart diseases. However, the biomedical model is also very crucial in the patients who are already suffering from heart disease and are in imminent danger of death if diagnosis and appropriate interventions are effected. Practical use of the model in such cases reduces the number of deaths due to the disease.
The WHO definition of health is ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. In that regard for medical research purposes, the biopsychosocial model is best suited since it describes the development of illness as the complex interaction of biological, physical and social factors, unlike the biomedical model that may be used to define health as merely the absence of disease (Deacon & McKay, 2015) . The biopsychosocial model puts everything according to the current definition of health into context. Research requires that the physical, social and mental aspects of the subjects under study be carefully and diligently searched (Wade & Halligan, 2017) .
Physicians focus more on the biomedical model because it focuses on the healthy body which is their area of expertise (Deacon & McKay, 2015) . In the model, the treatment is focused and physician- centered . Treatment is based on alleviation of symptoms, for example, even obesity with drugs. Psychologists, on the other hand, use the biopsychosocial model as it focuses on the healthy mind, body and social integration (Wade & Halligan, 2017) . Psychologists are more perceptive of social and mental health due to their training, therefore, are more likely to use the biopsychosocial model.
The biomedical model has several advantages in that it has created advances in technology and research on diagnosis and treatment of diseases, it extends life expectancy, improves the quality of life, and most issues are effectively treated (Deacon & McKay, 2015) . On the downside, it is expensive, not all conditions are treatable, and has a narrow view of health. The biopsychosocial model has a broad view of health and treatment is also the responsibility of the patient. Critics may feel that characterizing all mental illnesses as psychosocial increases stigma (Wade & Halligan, 2017) .
References
Deacon, B. J., & McKay, D. (2015). The biomedical model of psychological problems: A call for critical dialogue. Lancet , 16 , 2-3.
Wade, D. T., & Halligan, P. W. (2017). The biopsychosocial model of illness: a model whose time has come.
