After being diagnosed with cancer the patient tells the population hea

After being diagnosed with cancer the patient tells the population health nurse that the disease is punishment from God. Which theory of disease causation is this patient using to explain the illness?

1. Environment.
2. Physical forces.
3. Specific organism.
4. Divine intervention.

ESSAYBID ANSWER

Answer: 4
Explanation: 4. Theories about the cause of disease and ill health have evolved over time. The first recognized attempt to attribute a cause to illness occurred during the “religious era.” During this period, disease was thought to be caused directly or indirectly by divine intervention, possibly as punishment for sins or as a trial of faith. During Hippocrates’ time, the primary belief of disease was from harmful substances in the environment. Before the religious era, disease was often attributed to physical forces such as miasmas or mists. The belief that disease was caused by a specific organism was introduced in the late 1870s with the bacteriologic era.