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.
...an, P., Egerter, S., & Williams, D. R. (2011). The social determinants of health: coming
Wilkinson, R.G. & Marmot, M.G. 2003, Social determinants of health: the solid facts, World Health Organization.
Disease has been known to humankind as the invisible killer for centuries. Plagues destroying towns, people dying for unexplainable reasons, and children dying all too soon. The miracle of modern medicine has permitted society to to have significant control over these terrifying invisible killer outbreaks. The vaccine is one of the greatest miracles of modern medicine. For example, the vaccine for the polio virus has virtually eliminated the incidences of polio in humans. “Vaccines represent a low-risk intervention administer according to a schedule in which there are currently no known acceptable alternatives.” (Opel et al. 2013). Vaccines protect the person who has been vaccinated from viruses and the more persons vaccinated the more
...n Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 19 Feb 2012.
Life expectancy in many parts of the world has increased since 1800 (Life Expectancy by Age, n.d). To understand these changes we can study the demographic transition, the changes in birth and death rates over extended periods of time. The industrial revolution has significantly improved the conditions of humans and in 20th century death rates declined but the birth rates remained unchanged. In many of today’s developed countries both rates have declined; however, in developing countries, while death rates have declined due the improvements of living conditions, the birth rates are still high which has caused a record high population growth (HAUB & GRIBBLE, 2011).
... presented by the diagram on the side. In this diagram some countries in Asia, Africa and South America have coverage of less than 89% of infants immunised. Two African countries, Somalia and Central African Republic have a rate of below 50%. The disease could also be prevented from re-emerging in countries where it has been eradicated by thoroughly promoting personal and environmental hygiene. The disease can also be eradicated in the other 3 countries by educating parents in rural areas about vaccinations and good hygiene as the disease is mainly spread through faeces
Despite such documented success we are still witnessing the deadly impact of vaccine preventable diseases. Millions of preventable cases of disease and death are still occurring in low and middle-income countries where disease burdens are often the highest. The time lag in the introduction of new vaccines between high-income and low-income countries has been a major issue. Some vaccines are introduced in high-income countries a full year before they are introduced to low-income countries where disease burdens are rapidly growing.
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.
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.
Social hierarchy and conditions within a community has a direct impact on the health and wellness of the people that reside within the boundaries of that city. Major contributors to the welfare of a neighborhood include but are not limited to: the area in which they live, their social standing within the population and the income of the individual or family. Each factor has a severe influence on the life expectancy of the peoples within the society.
Working class individuals are disadvantaged in terms of their income, wealth and health. For example, according to the Office of National Statistics (2014), the life expectancy from higher managerial and professional backgrounds is 80 years old; however, the life expectancy of men from routine backgrounds, typically associated with manual labour of the working class is 74. This shows that the working class are disadvantaged in terms of their income and wealth as they typically earn less. Despite, earning less there are serious health implications, which means there life expectancy is shortened by 6 years. This relates to the typical danger of manual labour, such as working in hazardous environments such
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).
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.