CH8 COMPARISONS IN HEALTH STATUS & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Flashcards
gross national income (GNI)
-GNI per capita is the value of a country’s total annual income, expressed in US dollars, & divided by its population to indicate the average income of the country’s citizens
characteristics of high, middle & low-income countries
-characteristics are influenced partly by diffs in GNI, as diffs in income significantly impacts on the services & resources between countries
ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
-level of debt
-income
-trade opportunities
-poverty
-welfare support
ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS
-infrastructure
-access to clean water
-access to improved sanitation
-access to food
-agricultural productivity
-energy use
SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS
-social support
-employment
-birth rates
-education levels
-healthcare system
-living standards
low-income countries
-low-income countries face significant disadvantages because they are often unable to provide the social support & opportunities for increasing income that people need to help them to build a life free from poverty
CHARACTERISTICS:
-lack of social support such as welfare
-low levels of educational attainment
-high population growth
-poor access to improved sanitation
-lower agricultural productivity & food security
-poor access to healthcare
-less infrastructure
middle-income countries
-the characteristics of middle-income countries tend to depend on their income (lower-middle & upper-middle)
CHARACTERISTICS:
-increasing economic growth
-increasing infrastructure
high-income countries
-are better able to provide a range of services to support the population to live a prosperous life
-have more financial resources to be able to provide a wider range of services to promote development such as healthcare, education & social security
CHARACTERISTICS
-availability of social support services such as social welfare
-higher levels of education attainment
-lower population growth
-access to improved sanitation
-higher agricultural productivity
-improved food security
-access to healthcare
-improved infrastructure
causes of mortality
-many of the leading causes of death in low-income countries are associated with under-nutrition, but other causes include perinatal conditions, diarrhoeal disease, infectious diseases & non-communicable conditions
-low-income countries are facing a double BOD
-most deaths in high-income countries tend to be from non-communicable causes such as cancer & CVD, while most in low-income tend to be from communicable diseases
double burden of disease
the coexistence of communicable & noncommunicable or chronic diseases
non-communicable disease
-there are 4 main types of non-communicable diseases:
1) CVD
2) chronic respiratory diseases
3) cancers
4) diabetes mellitus
-non-communicable diseases are not passed from person to person but rather are due to the damage caused to the body from a range of risk factors (biological, sociocultural & environmental factors, & behaviours)
sustainability
-sustainability is about recognising that to reduce global poverty now & in the future, growth & development must be inclusive & environmentally sound
-sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without comprimising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
2 key aspects of sustainability
FIRST
-it focuses on the notion or concept of needs, specifically the needs of low-income countries
-these needs include the most basic things that humans require for survival (shelter, food & clean water) & more complex needs such as access to healthcare & education
SECOND
-the concept of limitations & the fact that sustainability requires society to acknowledge & respect the limitations of the environment in meeting the needs of the present, & also future needs
3 dimensions of sustainability
ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
-involves the efficient & responsible use of available resources to ensure that all financial obligations over time can be met
-eg. managing debt & increasing incomes
-achieving economic sustainability involves investing in education & improving the skills & knowledge of the workforce, & having access to appropriate technology, transport, communication systems, tools & energy
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
-involves making decisions & implementing practices that minimise the degradation of the planet & having an awareness of natural resources & fragility of the physical environment
-eg. responsible development of infrastructure & reducing emmissions
-achieving environmental sustainability involves protecting natural resources & reducing pollution
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
-is about equitably meeting & promoting the needs of all people now & in the future
-eg. social support systems & high employment
-achieving social sustainability involves empowering people to take control of their lives, & respecting the values & knowledge of people
how sustainability promotes health & wellbeing
-ensuring the needs of the current generation are being met for essential resources helps to promote the physical h&w of the population now
-ensuring that these resources are not depleted & are therefore available for future generations to meet their needs means that physical h&w will also be promoted in future generations
-promoted economic sustainability by increasing income at a national level through trade means that govs have more money to invest in services such as education & healthcare, improving physical h&w as people enjoy improved access to the treatment they need, which reduces impact of illness
human development
-is a process of increasing the opportunities & freedoms that people have to develop to their full potential & lead productive, creative lives in accordance with their needs & interests
-3 key dimensions of HD: long healthy life, being knowledgeable & a decent standard of living
central themes in the human development concept
PEOPLE
-rather than focusing on economic growth & assuming that this will result in improvements in wellbeing for all, HD has a focus on improving the lives of people
-in this way, HD views economic growth as a means to achieve HD rather than as the end goal
OPPORTUNITIES
-providing people with more freedom to live a life that they value is also a central theme in the HD concept
-it is about providing people with a range of skills & abilities & the opportunities to use them
CHOICE
-happiness & satisfaction in life can’t be guaranteed, nor can we ensure that all people will always make the right choices in life
-central to HD is the idea that people need to be provided with opportunities & have the choice to make use of them
human development index (HDI)
-the HDI is a relatively new measure, introduced by the UN, that is used to assess the health & developmental outcomes of a nation
-the HDI looks beyond GDP to a broader definition of wellbeing
-it identifies HD as being about enlarging people’s choices, allowing them to develop their full potential & lead creative, productive lives in dignity & in accordance with their needs & interests
-HDI is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of HD
