Abstract
Handicap is the result of a process of disablement whose origin is a pathological condition (disease). According to some definitions of health (e.g., a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being), the classical biomedical concept is too restrictive to cover all the consequences of disease. New models have been proposed: the impairment-disability-handicap model presented by WHO, the situational handicap model, and the quality-of-life model. A unifying schema of the disablement process includes these concepts and provides a useful way of analysing the consequences of disease. Factors that modify the disablement process can be identified by their respective impacts, and provide operational guidelines for public health interventions.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Chamie M. Survey design strategies for the study of disability. World Health Stat Q. 1989;42(3):122–140. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fabrega H., Jr The need for an ethnomedical science. Science. 1975 Sep 19;189(4207):969–975. doi: 10.1126/science.1220008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Feinstein A. R., Josephy B. R., Wells C. K. Scientific and clinical problems in indexes of functional disability. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Sep;105(3):413–420. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-105-3-413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vetter N. J., Lewis P. A., Ford D. The relationship between symptoms of chronic disease and dependence. Int Disabil Stud. 1990 Jan-Mar;12(1):22–27. doi: 10.3109/03790799009166598. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wood P. H. Measuring the consequences of illness. World Health Stat Q. 1989;42(3):115–121. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]