ABSTRACT
Health care is dominated by a traditional biomedical model. According to this model, human pain and suffering are caused by disease processes. Disease activity is measured by judgments of trained physicians and by physiological measures, including blood chemistry or radiographic evidence of pathology. The traditional medical model recognizes behavioral factors as predictors of these outcomes. Behavioral risk factors might be cigarette smoking, high-risk behaviors, or the consumption of a high-fat diet (Kaplan, 1984). In addition, the traditional biomedical model suggests that the disease process is determined by genetic predispositions, environmental exposures, and the aging process. The disease process is also affected by medical care and the regular use of medical tests (Wilson & Cleary, 1995).
