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Definition of Medical Model of Disability

Models are systems used to facilitate the understanding of concepts. The medical model of disability focuses on physiological and mental factors related to disability and largely ignores social and environmental factors that may contribute to disability. The Social Security Administration (SSA), state Medicaid programs, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and short-term disability insurance providers utilize the medical model for making disability determinations.

  1. Definition

    • The medical model defines disability in medical terms, such as diagnoses, symptoms and conditions. The model focuses on how aspects of a condition and its symptoms contribute to disability. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines disability as "any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a manner or within the range considered normal for a human being."

    Impairments

    • Impairments refer to specific issues contributing to a disability. For example, a person who is disabled due to schizophrenia may have impairments in the areas of perception and thought processes. A person who has chronic pain may have difficulty moving, which is referred to as a mobility impairment.

    Handicaps

    • A handicap is any disadvantage for an individual related to an impairment or disability. An individual with schizophrenia has a mental handicap that is related to impairments in thought processing and reality perception. A person with limited mobility has a physical handicap related to impairments in the ability to move.

    Focus

    • The focus of the medical model is diagnosing specific medical problems and treating them through medical treatment, such as through surgeries or medications. For example, a person with chronic pain may be treated with opiate pain relievers. A schizophrenic may be treated with antipsychotic medications.

    Warning

    • Relying solely on the medical model of disability ignores many other factors related to disabilities. For example, individuals with a mental illness may live in a stressful environment that exacerbates the mental illness symptoms. This specific problem cannot be adequately treated through medication or other medical treatments.

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