Health & Movement Science
Health, the body in motion and improving performance — full HSC papers with structured-response marking guides.
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Biomedical versus social models of health
1. Overview — Why Two Models Exist
Health is a complex, multidimensional concept. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (1948). This definition immediately signals that no single framework can capture everything that shapes a person's health.
Historically, Western medicine developed around the biomedical model, which dominated from the 19th century through much of the 20th century. As chronic, lifestyle-related, and socially determined diseases became the leading causes of death and disability in Australia, health researchers, governments, and the WHO recognised that clinical medicine alone could not address these challenges. This gave rise to the social model of health and, practically, to health promotion frameworks such as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986).
In the NSW HSC, you must understand each model on its own terms, then evaluate them — meaning you must weigh strengths against limitations and apply each to real Australian health issues. Focus Area 1 (Health in an Australian and global context) makes this comparison a core examination area.
2. The Biomedical Model — Definition, Principles and Application
The biomedical model views health primarily as the absence of disease, injury, or disability. It is grounded in the biological sciences — anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology — and frames health problems as having identifiable physical or biochemical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and ideally cured.
Core principles of the biomedical model:
- Reductionism: complex health problems are broken down into specific, measurable biological components (e.g., identifying a pathogen, measuring blood glucose, imaging a tumour).
- Individual focus: the unit of intervention is the patient; success is measured by the patient's clinical recovery.
- Curative emphasis: the primary goal is to restore the body to a prior state of biological function through surgery, medication, or clinical procedures.
- Scientific objectivity: diagnosis and treatment rely on empirical, evidence-based protocols (e.g., randomised controlled trials, clinical guidelines).
- Expert authority: trained medical professionals hold specialised knowledge; the patient is largely a passive recipient of care.
Applied example — Type 2 diabetes under the biomedical model: A patient presents with elevated HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin). The biomedical response involves blood tests, diagnosis, prescription of metformin or insulin, dietary advice from a dietitian, and monitoring of blood glucose. The model successfully manages the disease at the individual level and prevents acute complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis or organ damage. This is genuinely life-saving and represents the model's greatest strength.
Strengths of the biomedical model:
- Highly effective for acute, infectious, and surgically treatable conditions — antibiotics for bacterial infections, vaccines for communicable diseases, surgery for traumatic injuries.
- Produces measurable, relatively rapid outcomes that can be evaluated and compared.
- Underpins Australia's world-class hospital and primary care system, including Medicare-funded GP visits, public hospital care, and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
- Evidence base is robust and continuously updated through clinical research.
Limitations of the biomedical model:
- Does not address why a person became sick — it treats the disease, not the conditions that produced it (social determinants such as poverty, poor housing, unemployment).
- Largely passive for the patient; does not build individual or community capacity to manage their own health.
- Expensive at scale — treating chronic disease after the fact costs far more than preventing it upstream.
- Ineffective for conditions rooted in behaviour, environment, or inequality — cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental illness, and substance use disorders are poorly addressed by clinical medicine alone.
- Historically marginalised Indigenous healing practices and community-based health knowledge, contributing to distrust of mainstream health services among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion identifies five action areas. Which of the following correctly matches an Ottawa Charter action area with an example health initiative?
- A. Strengthen community action — A government legislates mandatory bicycle helmet laws
- B. Build healthy public policy — A local council consults residents to develop a community exercise program
- C. Create supportive environments — A school canteen replaces all deep-fried options with grilled alternatives
- D. Develop personal skills — A state government passes legislation banning tobacco advertising
Show the worked answer
Answer: C
Creating supportive environments involves changing the physical and social settings in which people live so that healthy choices are easier. Redesigning a school canteen to offer healthier food options directly alters the environment to support healthier eating. Legislation is 'build healthy public policy'; community consultation and program development is 'strengthen community action'; and banning advertising is 'build healthy public policy'.
All 20 practice exams
- Exam 1 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Social determinants of health
- Exam 2 — Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Biophysical concepts and energy systems
- Exam 3 — Focus Area 1: Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2: Training for improved performance; Depth studies integration (minimum two)
- Exam 4 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Social determinants of health
- Exam 5 — Focus Area 1: Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2: Training for improved performance; Physiological adaptations to training
- Exam 6 — Health in an Australian and global context (Focus Area 1); Training for improved performance (Focus Area 2); Depth study integration (epidemiology, sports physiology)
- Exam 7 — Health in an Australian and global context (Focus Area 1); Training for improved performance (Focus Area 2); Social determinants, priority populations, and health promotion
- Exam 8 — Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Energy systems and training adaptations
- Exam 9 — Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Depth Studies (minimum of two)
- Exam 10 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Data and scenario interpretation
- Exam 11 — Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Biophysical principles of training
- Exam 12 — Focus Area 1: Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2: Training for improved performance; Depth Studies (epidemiology, energy systems, training principles)
- Exam 13 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Social determinants of health
- Exam 14 — Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Energy systems and training adaptations
- Exam 15 — Focus Area 1: Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2: Training for improved performance; Depth studies — epidemiology and determinants of health
- Exam 16 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Determinants of health and health inequities
- Exam 17 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Data and scenario interpretation
- Exam 18 — Focus Area 1: Health in an Australian and global context; Focus Area 2: Training for improved performance; Depth studies (integrated into extended response)
- Exam 19 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Social determinants of health
- Exam 20 — Year 12 Focus Area 1 — Health in an Australian and global context; Year 12 Focus Area 2 — Training for improved performance; Energy systems and bioenergetics
All 20 revision notes
- Biomedical versus social models of health
- Concepts of health and wellbeing
- Global health status and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Health status indicators and data sources
- Individual, societal, and environmental factors
- Leading causes of burden of disease in Australia
- Ottawa Charter and health promotion action areas
- Priority population groups and health inequities
- Social, cultural, and economic determinants
- ATP-CP, anaerobic glycolysis, and aerobic energy systems
- Arousal, motivation, anxiety, and performance
- Energy system interplay and the oxygen continuum
- Motion, force, and Newton's Laws applied to sport
- Periodisation: macrocycle, mesocycle, microcycle, and peaking
- Principles of training: FITT, specificity, progressive overload, reversibility
- Projectile motion, levers, and balance in sport
- Stages of skill acquisition and practice methods
- Types of training: aerobic, anaerobic, resistance, flexibility, and interval
- Data analysis, evaluation, and communicating findings
- Scientific investigation design: hypotheses, variables, and methods