Chapter 2 - An Unequal World: Population Health Flashcards
medical geography
health geography
Medical geography: study of space and place and its significance for illness, disease and mortality
Health geography: study of space and place and its significance for happiness, wellbeing, and life
describe the common death causes in developing and developed countries
In low income countries, the top causes of death come from communicable diseases, nutritional issues, etc.
In high income countries, the top causes of death come from non-communicable diseases (cancer, stroke, heart disease)
Describe spatial distribution’s impact on health
some diseases are only found in tropical climates, while lifestyle diseases (Like diabetes) are commonly found in the US
Overall, life expectancy has increased due to :
Good government and strategic planning
Technology transfer
Improving quality of life and education
Advanced healthcare & nutrition
Epidemiological transition
changing pattern of mortality, fertility and life expectancy
Populations move from deaths from infectious diseases to more deaths from degenerative diseases
this is from improved healthcare practices and the resulting longer life expectancies
what are the 5 stages in the epidemiological transition
Age of pestilence and famine
Age of receding pandemics
Age of degenerative diseases
Age of delayed degenerative diseases
Re-Emergence of Infectious Diseases
define Age of pestilence and famine
dominated by infectious, parasitic disease, occasional famine; low life expectancy and common pandemics like Black Plague
define Age of Receding Pandemics
beginning of control over infectious disease as a result of improved sanitation, public health, with fewer plagues
coincided with Industrial Revolution (gains in wealth and health)
Define age of degenerative disease
decrease in deaths from infectious diseases and an increase in chronic and degenerative conditions associated with longer life expectancies
define Age of Delayed Degenerative Disease
extension of the 3rd stage, where people now had access to life-extending medicine and prescription drugs that would delay their degenerative diseases
define Re-Emergence of Infectious Diseases:
future stage where new strains of infectious disease will re-emerge (like SARS)
indivdual social gradient
used to describe the phenomenon whereby people who are less advantaged in terms of socioeconomic position have worse health (and shorter lives) than those who are more advantaged
Factors such as education, employment status, income, gender, and ethnicity have a marked impact on a person’s health
