Question One
There are a number of ways in which the increasing socio-economic development of a nation can help improve the health of the population.
1. There is a correlation between mortality rates in the developing countries, especially amongst children, and the level of education of the parents of the children. For example, in Morocco, a mother who has completed 4-6 years of schooling, their child is 45% less likely to have died by the age of 2, compared with child’s mother who has had no school (Book 3, Page 54). Education improves the overall knowledge of looking after oneself and others, but also enables people to gain higher income levels, and thus, acquire purchasing power to buy the goods (if available), which will help them improve their quality of life.
2. Food provisions are a necessity to maintaining a healthy population. There are many facets to food, mainly the distribution and supply of food, and the quality and nutritional ingredients of food. Food needs to be of good, sustainable quality so that it provides people with the basic supply of vitamins and minerals to live, and has to be easily accessible so that everyone in the nation can benefit. Developed countries have pioneered the way of preserving food for longer (i.e. use of plastics), and developing countries have benefited from this, but the developed world has also introduced new fear factors regarding food such as contamination (BSE, Salmonella etc) and additives, and, the long term effects of such advancements is beginning to materialise (Book 3, Page 306-307). Developing nations need to maintain a balance of growth, by producing enough food for the nations own consumption, but also growing food for exportation, which will improve their GNP and their overall growth as a nation.
3. Reducing the gap between the social classes will provide a better overall health and wealth of a nation. Those living in the lower social classes have a lower life expectancy than those in higher social classes (Book 3, Page 216). There are many tools and precautions that may be used to bridge the gap. Occupations within the social classes tend to be more manual and risk-based occupations such as mining or engineering. In recent times, Acts of Law have been passed by Governments to protect employees, and as such...
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... in further research. The developed world cannot be complacent in its attitude towards communicable diseases. As more and more people are able and free to roam from country to country, so it becomes harder to ensure that adequate strategies can be enforced and that the appropriate vaccines have been administered. Therefore, there still has to be concerted efforts from the developed and the developing world that a multi-disciplinary strategy can be adopted and enforced, and only by such mechanisms can the long-term goal of eradicating communicable diseases be achieved.
References
Szreter,S (1998) ‘The importance of social intervention in Britain’s mortality decline c. 1850-1914: a re-interpretation of the role of public health.’ in Davey, B, Gray, A and Seale, C (eds) Health and Disease: A Reader, Open University Press, Buckingham.
U205 Health and Disease Book 3 (2001) World Health and Disease, Gray,A, Open University Press, Buckingham.
U205 Health and Disease Book 1 (2001) Medical Knowledge: Doubt and Certainty, Seale, C. Pattison, S. and Davey, B. (eds), Open University Press, Buckingham.
VC 1265, Video 1, ‘South Africa: Health at the crossroads’ Open University.
Last week was a good demonstration of how a culture can significantly influence its nation’s health outcome. The Japanese, by being Japanese, have enhanced their mortality rate making them the best nation in the world for health outcomes. (Bezruchka, 2011) Not all cultures are so egalitarian however and require more programs or impetus to effect change in their health status. As we look at Europe, two countries which stood out to me were Sweden, a relatively wealthy country, and Slovenia; much poorer and agrarian relative to other European nations.
Shi L. & Singh D.A. (2011). The Nation’s Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Since the end of World War II and the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, Britain has experienced numerous improvements in the medical sector. Among these advances are the pre and postnatal management, development of vaccines, tests, treatments, drugs and machines. These developments have allowed life expectancy to increase from 66 to 78.8 and 70 to 82.8 for males and females respectively from 1950 to 2010, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This includes the ‘new public health approach’. This expressive approach illustrates how ‘the multifaceted relationships between social, environmental, cultural, economic and political determinants affect health, as well as working towards an equality for a better health’ (Keleher & MacDougall, 2011). Likewise, this ‘new public health approach’ interrelates with other diverse approaches, but specifically with the ‘sociological approach’. These dimensions work hand-in-hand, in order to promote a positive lifestyle, by improving the factors in life individuals take for granted, such as an income, education and living and working conditions. A hypothetical example which exemplifies this, is if there were a middle-low class family, who worked long hours of the day for minimal pay due to their lack of education, and were unable to provide a great enough income for the education of their children. However, the government was able to provide the necessity of education for their children. In essence, this would relieve the family’s stress of not being able to provide the income for their child’s education, thus improving the mental health of the family, as well as the social health of the child being able to socialise and making friends in a comfortable, stable
Today, deaths from influenza, cholera, and tuberculosis are rare in England; however, in Victorian England, these diseases and many more health problems were widespread. Victorian England was a time of great change, socially, economically, and politically. From the rise of factories to increased urbanization, the lives of many Britons changed during the Victorian era. Ultimately, many facets of change led to the transformation – both positive and negative – of one aspect of every citizen’s life: health. Deadly epidemics became widespread, and workers and average citizens died from disease caused by increased environmental pollution. Yet, health reforms and advances in medicine occurred as well.
World health organisation cited in Haralambos and Holborn (2009) sociology themes and perspectives: students hand book, seventh edition, London Collins Publishers.
Socioeconomic Disparities and health are growing at a rapid rate throughout the United States of America. To further understand the meaning of Socioeconomic Disparities, Health and Socioeconomic disparities & health, this essay will assist in providing evidence. Disparities can be defined in many ways, of which include ethnic and racial background and class types that deal with it the most. Due to the low income some individuals receive, they have less access to health care and are at risk for major health issues. Although, ethnicity and socioeconomic status should not determine the level of health care one should receive or whether not the individual receives healthcare.
In view of social-class affecting health, the principle is straightforward. As an individual goes up the social-class ladder, health improves. As an individual goes down the ladder, health worsens (Henslin, 2016, p. 276). That being the case, social class has many factors that affect health.
The inevitable, but unpredictable, appearance of new infectious diseases has been recognized for millennia, well before the discovery of causative infectious agents. The ease of world travel and increased global independence has added layers of complexity to containing these infectious diseases that affect not only the health but the economic stability of societies (Morens et al., 2013).
Social determinants of health has been a large topic for many years and can have a positive and negative effect on individuals, families and communities. (World Health Organisation, 2009) The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. Social determinants have many factors and in this essay education will be the main social determinant of health discussed and how this could have an impact on the physical and mental sides of health.
Sabogal, R (2010) Global Environmental Health : Sustainability. Journal of Environmental Health, 73 (3) p26-28.
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.
Fort, M. M., & Oscar, G. (2004). Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health. Cambridge: South End Press.
Robert May. “Plagues and People.” IUBMB Life. Vol. 58 Issue 3 (2006). . 120. http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20856641&site=ehost-live.
According to Foucault and Illich (in Van Krieken et al. 2006: 351-352), doctors and the medical profession have traditionally been empowered by their knowledge as the authority that society defers to with regards to the definition of disease and health. With improvements in medical technology as well as the advent of the hospital, an evolution...