HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Question 1

What are diseases of affluence

Answer 1

The main causes of death in wealthy countries such as cancer, strokes and heart disease. These are causes by excessive lifestyle such as too much food, alcohol and smoking.

Question 2

What are diseases of poverty

Answer 2

Diseases that arise because victims are malnourished and poor. These are often infectious diseases which are preventable and treatable. However, due to lack of access to amnesties that the western populations take for granted such as nutritious diets and clean water.

Question 3

What are three major factors which contribute to poor health

Answer 3

Poverty - lack of income; cannot afford health care or adequate diets

Lack of education - misunderstanding of diseases and no understanding on how to treat them.

Lack of facilities - hospitals, lack of treatment and healthcare

Question 4

Outline the modernisation theory with regards to health

Answer 4

Modernisation theorists would expect health patterns of developing countries to follow those of the developed world in the past as developing countries are still at the stage developed countries were at centuries ago. Omran proposed the concept of epidemiolic transition model which is what all countries go through in development

Question 5

Outline the epidemiological transition model

Answer 5

1. Pestillance and famine - infectious diseases are widespread. Death rates and infant mortality are high
2. Receding pandemics - this follows improvements to sanitation hygiene and nutrition. Illness begins to fall due to improvements in education and technology.
3. Communicable illnesses begin to fall, life length increases and people die from long term diseases linked to lifestyle.

Question 6

Outline the dependency theory in relation to health

Answer 6

Dependency theorists argue modernisation in developing countries will cause those in rural communities with little access to health care and that Macdonald argues that health in these countries are made worse due to cultural imperialism and debt etc. Health in these countries is also effected by the adoption of lifestyles from the rich world, TNCs focus their research on medicines that will make them the most money not ones which are most needed.