health Flashcards
health equity
the absence of available or remediable differences among groups of people
social determinants of health
conditions in the places where people live, work, learn and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes affected by how money, power and resources are distributed
why do we need to know the reasons that people die
to improve how people live
to assess the effectiveness of our health systems
to direct resources to where they are needed most
WHO - health inequalities are systematic differences in health outcomes
health inequalities - differences in the health status or distribution of health resources between different population groups
WHO - infant mortality
14x more likely to die before the age of 5 in sub-saharan African countries
children from rural and poorer households are disproportionally affected
WHO - maternal mortality
99% of annual maternal deaths in the world are from developing countries
WHO - life expectancy variations
varies by 34 years between countries
LIC avg. - 62
HIC avg, - 81
WHO - persistent inequalities slow development
around 1 billion of the world live in slum conditions - 1/4 of the worlds urban population
Water and Sanitation
80% of diseases in LDC’s are water related
improved hygiene and sanitation has more of an impact on world health outcomes than improved drinking water quality
washing cooking and drinking with contaminated water is commonplace
nutrition and nourishment
poverty is the main cause of hunger
45% of deaths among children under 5 years old are linked to undernutrition
1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese
samoa - 93% of adults over weight - imported food has higher fat and sugar content
Cultural practices and sexual inequality
FGM, early pregnancies and multiple pregnancies impact on women’s physical and mental health
in many societies, women have lower status and control over decision making about their bodies in intimate relationships, families and communities. can expose women to violence, harmful practices and coercion
education and illiteracy impact on health
adults with significantly lower educational attainment are more likely to suffer from poor health compared to other population groups
education may increase the uptake of preventative care
education has a high impact on preventing mental health illness, such as depression and anxiety.
modernisation theory - how has the west improved health in developing countries
western education spreads new scientific knowledge of illness and the causes - also done by the media, e.g. government campaigns to educate the population
immunisation programmes from western organisations have saved countless lives, eradicating some illnesses completely
modernisation theory - the biomedical model
assumes disease is abnormal and has specific causes and encourages the medicalisation of healthcare and professionalisation
fails to deal with the wider societal issues of health and illness, and also fails to use indigenous knowledge, practices and social factors in dealing with health issues
only benefits the wealthy minority
results in the under-funding of other sources of primary healthcare
neoliberalism - role of privitisation and marketisation in health
emphasis on a market approach to healthcare, and individuals should provide their own healthcare rather than rely on the state
TNC’s must be given the ability to protect themselves from ‘piracy’ in order to continue with research
privitisation of health services to provide efficiency and the best practices, competition will drive down prices and improve quality
criticisms of neoliberalism
the price of drug treatments are often out of reach of those who need them
dependency theory
Navarro - imperialism and colonialism has produced an ‘underdevelopment’ of health in developing countries
the market of healthare has produced an inequality in standard for healthcare for those who can afford to pay and those who cannot
trained professionals are leaving developing countries to work in developed countries
TNCs charge high prices for life saving drugs - AIDS
poverty and the amount spent by developing countries on health is directly related to the issues of trade and debt
criticisms of dependency theory
ignores the positive changes to global health - rising life expectency, immunisation programmes etc.
overlooks choices that people have made - such as migrating for higher wages
ignores preventative measures being put in placr - e.g. immunisation
feminism
the impacts of patriarchy reinforce the health inequalities that women experience
poverty and low status means that women recieve less access to healthcare
Steinem - women live in a ‘fifth world’ where they are experiencing higher levels of poverty, exploitation and ill-health than men do
cultural traditions reduce women’s life chances - early marriage, FGM, son preference etc.
60-80% of girls in Matam, Senegal have FGM and girls as young as 8 get married and are expected to stay at home - no education
Erhlich - the population bomb - 1968
population growth causes poverty and needs to be controlled
responsible for the problems in developing countries
over population prevents development occuring
forecasted that hundreds of millions would strave to death
connections between health and population
the growth in population is a result of improved health, decreased infant mortality rates
diseases of poverty are major killers in the developing world
limited expenditure on health care in developing countries
costs of healthcare often out of reach for ordinary people worldwide
lack of resources drives poor health in developing world, and over consumption in the developed world also causes problems
modernisaiton theory - solutions to overpopulation
persuade countries to adopt family-planning and health and education policies
use aid and trade sanctions as tools of persuasion
Ehrlich suggests forcible sterilisation of men with 3 or more children in developing countries
education will assist removing women from the home and having so many chilren
china - one child policy 1979-2015 - problems of son- preference
dependecy theory - optimistic views of population
Boserup - population is an incentive to development
food supply has kept pace with population by stimulating demand
Hartmann - once peoples physical survival is ensured and children are no longer their only source of security, history shows that population growth rates fall voluntarily
Adamson - the context of having children must be taken into account - children in developing countries are seen as an economic asset - poverty must be tackles as an issue before birth control will succeed
Feminism - how have women’s rights been impacted on by ‘family planning’ and policies aimed at ‘reducing population growth’
women have been seen as the key to reducing population but not always in a positive way
forcible sterilisation has been common for vulnerable groups in both rich and poor countries
ensuring girls stay in school for longer is the best form of contraception, along with improving women’s rights
girls are less likely to finish schooling than boys, and are more likely to face forced marriage, child labour and FGM
estimated that 47700 girls are married before 18 every day
milestones for the population living in urban areas
2008 - over half the world’s population was living in urban areas
2050 - expected to reach 68%
overpopulated area example - Manila
20 million people
most graves rented and are dug up if payments are not made
people live amongst the graves
lack of space to live in the city
define slum
individuals under the same roof lacking access to one or more of the following conditions - access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability and security of tenure
how many people are estimated to live in slums by 2030
1/4
what can be the impacts of improving peoples homes in slums
home construction creates opportunities
stimulates creation of small businesses
securing land tenure helps to increase access to credit
improves health of the health of the family as it limits the spread of disease
better housing helps to improve educational attainment
what can be done to improve the conditions of people’s lives in slums
building disaster resistance into sustainable development to better cope with the impacts of extreme weather patterns
allowing people to have security of tenure - the ability to control the use of land without fear of eviction or or penalty
urbanisation - modernisation theory - economic benefits
cities help to boost growth by giving industrialist capitalists access to a concentrated pool of workers
wages paid to city factory workers filter down to help develop other city services
