Healthcare

 
The reference list and any diagrams are excluded from the word count, but tables, quotations and in-text citations are included.

The word limit is mandatory. Markers will not read or allocate marks to any words that exceed the word limit by 5 per cent or more. Exceeding the word limit may adversely affect your score for the assignment and could result in a fail grade.

TMA 02 question
What factors influence how the concept of ‘care’ is understood and is carried out in health and social care practice?

Guidance
Sources of information
You will find relevant information throughout Block 1, especially in Learning Guide 4, which focuses on the nature of care, but you could also make use of the discussion of medical and social models of health from earlier in the Block.

Suggested content
Provide a short introduction to your essay (around 100 words).

In the main body of your essay you need to begin by describing different concepts of care. You could consider informal and more formal approaches to care and link these to the biomedical model and the social model of health. These two approaches to health influence our understanding of care.

Here are some additional suggestions for content you might like to include:

You could go into more detail about different understandings of what is meant by ‘care’. It is important that you do so in your own words to demonstrate effectively an understanding of the concepts involved, although you might like to use brief quotes from the module materials, ensuring these are appropriately referenced.
You could discuss the influence of the biomedical and the social model on approaches to care. You should draw on brief examples from the module materials to illustrate your points. This is your opportunity to show that you recognise and understand the impact of biomedical and social factors on caring practice.
You could consider how issues of power affect the relationship between providers and receivers of care, again offering brief illustrations of your points from the module materials. This is your opportunity to show that you recognise and understand the importance of the role of power in health and social care practice.
Conclude the essay by summarising the key points, and by returning to the question, ensuring you have fully addressed it. A concluding paragraph might begin by saying, ‘In considering the factors which influence how the concept of care is understood and carried out, this essay has …’. Here you can list the main points you have made. Your conclusion should be based on and supported by the points you have made in your essay. This is not the time to introduce new ideas but should rather be reflective of what you have set out in your essay. This section could be around 150 words in length.