CampusDownWiki CampusDown ↗
English

Medical and Social Models of Disability

🤝 Social Welfare By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Quick answer: the medical model treats disability as an impairment or illness located in the individual, to be fixed by treatment and rehabilitation; the social model holds that people are disabled by physical, institutional and attitudinal barriers that exclude people with impairments, so the remedy is to change society.
Contents
  1. 1. Overview
  2. 2. The medical (individual) model
  3. 3. The social model
  4. 4. The ICF and the CRPD
  5. 5. Criticisms and issues
  6. 6. References

Overview

How disability is understood shapes disability policy and practice. Until the mid-twentieth century the medical model (individual model), which sees disability as a personal deficit, dominated. In the 1970s the British disability movement developed the social model, which treats disability as a problem created by society. Today the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), which combines both views, and the rights-based UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities set the international standard.

The medical (individual) model

  • View: disability is a physical or mental impairment caused by illness, injury or congenital conditions, a personal tragedy located in the individual.
  • Remedy: doctors and rehabilitation professionals diagnose, treat, rehabilitate and supply aids to reduce the impairment or help the person adapt to society. Eligibility for services is set by medical assessment and grading.
  • Contribution and limits: it advanced medicine and rehabilitation, but critics say it turned disabled people into passive patients, justified institutional segregation and hid society's responsibility.

The social model

  • Origins: in Fundamental Principles of Disability (1976), the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS) distinguished impairment (limitation of bodily function) from disability (the disadvantage imposed by a society that excludes people with impairments from social activity).
  • Development: sociologist Michael Oliver coined the term "social model" and in The Politics of Disablement (1990) argued that disability is produced by the economic and institutional arrangements of capitalist industrial society.
  • Example: a wheelchair user cannot enter a building not because of their legs but because there are only stairs and no ramp. Missing braille, sign language or easy-read information, job discrimination and prejudice are also disabling barriers.
  • Remedy: accessibility, anti-discrimination law, reasonable accommodation, support for independent living, and participation and self-determination by disabled people. The model underpins disability discrimination law, the independent living movement and inclusive education, and links with the empowerment model in social work.

The ICF and the CRPD

  • ICF: adopted by the WHO in 2001, it describes disability as the outcome of interaction between a health condition, body functions and structures, activities and participation, and personal and environmental factors. This combination of medical and social views is called the biopsychosocial model.
  • CRPD: adopted by the UN in 2006 and in force from 2008, the convention states that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers, reflecting the social model and a human rights approach. Korea ratified it in 2008.
  • Korea: the medically based six-grade disability rating system was abolished in July 2019 and replaced by a two-tier distinction (severe / not severe), with a comprehensive needs assessment that considers personal needs and environment.
CampusDown PICKPopular right now

Criticisms and issues

  • Critiques of the social model: Tom Shakespeare and others argue that a strict split between impairment and disability ignores difficulties arising from impairment itself, such as pain, fatigue or chronic illness, which remain even when barriers are removed.
  • Reassessing the medical model: many argue the problem is not treatment and rehabilitation as such but a power structure in which professionals decide the whole of disabled people's lives.
  • Implications for practice: social workers are expected to keep a dual focus, assessing functional limitations accurately while working to change environmental barriers.

References

  1. Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS). (1976). Fundamental Principles of Disability. London: UPIAS.
  2. Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
  3. World Health Organization. (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Geneva: WHO.
  4. Shakespeare, T. (2006). Disability Rights and Wrongs. London: Routledge.
  5. United Nations. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. New York: United Nations.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

Find more reports · Search '장애의 의료적 모델과 사회적 모델' on CampusDown →
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)What the Americans with Disabilities Act covers: the five titles, the definition of disability, reasonable accommodation and undue hardship, EEOC and DOJ enforcement, Olmstead and the 2008 amendments, and how Korea's disability discrimination act compares.⚖️ LawNormalization Principle and Inclusive EducationThe normalization principle and inclusive education: Bank-Mikkelsen and Nirje, Wolfensberger's social role valorization, deinstitutionalization, least restrictive environment, mainstreaming, levels of integration and Korean special education law.📚 EducationEmpowerment Model in Social WorkThe empowerment model in social work: Solomon's concept, links to the strengths perspective, personal, interpersonal and political levels, Miley et al.'s dialogue-discovery-development phases, worker roles and limits.📄 OtherUniversal Declaration of Human RightsWhat the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is, how the UN adopted it in Paris on December 10, 1948, what its 30 articles cover, how the 1966 covenants turned it into treaty law, and where the United States and Korea stand.⚖️ Law

You may also like

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)Brown v. Board of Education (1954) summary: the case, Chief Justice Warren's unanimous ruling, why 'separate but equal' fell, and what happened after.⚖️ LawIntestate SuccessionWho inherits when someone dies without a will: how U.S. intestacy statutes rank spouses, children and other relatives, how per stirpes works, and how Korea's Civil Act sets heirs, shares and representation.⚖️ LawThe Rule of LawWhat is the rule of law? Its meaning and history from Magna Carta to United States v. Nixon, Dicey and Fuller's principles, and how it differs from rule by law.⚖️ LawCommon Law vs. Civil LawCommon law vs. civil law: how the two legal families differ on sources of law, precedent, trials and judges, and where Korea's mixed system fits between them.⚖️ Law

This article was last updated on October 15, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.