Oral Health | Clinical and Risk Asessment | Societal and professional perspectives of health and disease

Societal and professional perspectives of health and disease
Session overview
Description
This session outlines the different perspectives of health that exist and how these have evolved over time. It is important to understand how the patient views their oral health and the role that you might play in maintaining it.

Learning objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• describe the key models for defining health
• identify the major statements that have influenced the health agenda
• explain how the perspectives of health have changed over time
• explain the difference between professional and lay perspectives of health

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should:

• understand the holistic assessment of the patient by completing e-Den session Patient assessment\Assessment methods and techniques\Holistic assessment of the patient

Historically, the medical professions have tended to define health in terms of diseases. People are defined in terms of their illness; individuals need to be treated and are dependant upon the medical professions to ‘cure’ their problems.

However, there are different ways to define health.

Lay people’s perception of health is different to that of the medical profession. For example, an individual may expect to lose their teeth if they are part of a society in which most others in that society have lost their teeth. They regard the loss as a normal process.

This session will deal with both how the different meanings have evolved and what the changes mean for understanding a patient’s perception of health.