What is a major limitation of the biomedical approach to health?

The major limitation of the biomedical approach to health is that it focuses primarily on biological factors while often neglecting the psychological and social influences that can significantly affect an individual's health. This model primarily emphasizes the physical aspects of disease and illness, such as biological dysfunctions, genetic predispositions, and physiological processes, which can overlook the broader context of a patient's life, including their mental health, emotional well-being, socioeconomic status, and social support networks.

By concentrating only on biological aspects, the biomedical model may fail to address critical factors that contribute to a person’s overall health status and wellbeing, such as lifestyle choices, stress levels, cultural influences, and social determinants of health. A comprehensive understanding of health requires an integration of biological, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives, which the biomedical approach may be inadequate in providing.