health and diseases: gateway 1 Flashcards
infant mortality rate LDCs AND DCs
- for every 1000 babies born in Singapore, an average of 1.77 babies die before the age of one
> at of 2015, Singapore is ranked first in having the lowest IMR in the world
it is not always the case that the more developed a country is, the lower its IMR tends to be
- LCDs like Thailand and Argentina have a low IMR below 14 per every 1000 live births
- but most LDCs have a higher IMR ranging from 14 to 74 per 1000 live births
> a few LDCs such as Afghanistan and Angola have an even higher IMR of above 74 per 1000 live births
life expectancy
- high life expectancy of 80 years and above generally found in DCs like Australia, Japan and France
- life expectancy of 70-79 is also found in other DCs such as USA and Portugal
- lower life expectancy of 60-69 years is usually found in LDCs
> some LDCs such as Afghanistan, Chad and Zambia have even lower like expectancy of below 50 years
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (social)
lifestyle choices
- according to a 2012 study by the WHO, physical inactivity was responsible for 6 per cent of all global deaths
> the deaths resulting from DCs were more significant
> the wealthy in LDCs were also vulnerable
> hired help in the household and the use of technology often result in decreasing physical activity - smoking is a bigger problem in LDCs than in DCs
> 80 % of the world’s one billion smokers are from LDCs
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (social)
education
- between 1981 and 2005 in India
> the IMR among children born to mothers without formal schooling was consistently higher than those born to mothers with education - an infant born to a mother with 11 years of formal education has been found to be 60 per cent less likely to die in the first month of birth
- Children in DCs are more likely to stay in school and compete their education
> education is often compulsory in DCs and have more resources to invest in education - children who live in poverty are more likely to drop out of school because it is not affordable for their family
> have to start working from a young age to supplement their household income - in 2012, out of 60.7 million primary school-age children were out of school worldwide
>30.6 million of them were from Sub-Saharan Africa - north America and western Europe has a smaller number of 1.3 million children out of school
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (economic)
poverty and affluence
- the world bank uses the official global poverty line as the standard to measure poverty in all countries
> it is derived from the average national poverty line of the world’s 15 poorest countries and is periodically revised
> the current global poverty line is set as US$1.90
> people living on US$1.90 or less is referred as living in ‘extreme poverty’ - about 12.7% of the world’s population remain below the extreme poverty line- income of US$1.90 or less a day
- extreme poverty is extremely rare in DCs but still exists
-eg. while DCs in East Asia saw a dramatic reduction in extreme poverty in the past three decades, 7.2% of its population still lives in extreme poverty
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (economic)
investment in health care and access to health services
- example of an investment in heath care by the money that the government uses to build and maintain hospitals
> money used to train and hire staff- doctors and nurses
> also money used to purchase medicine and medical equipment like syringes and x-ray machines
countries with good healthcare often have high doctor-patient and bed-patient ratios
> in Singapore, for every 10 000 people there are 18 doctors and 31 hospital beds
countries with poor level of healthcare often have a low doctor-patient and bed-patient ratios
> in Bangladesh, for every 10 000 people there are 3 doctors and 4 hospital beds
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (environment)
living conditions?
poor living conditions:
for example:
- temporary homes made of plywood
- five people to a room that has no proper partitions
- tanker truck as only source of drinking water
- one toilet shared by four families
- house on illegally settled on land
good living conditions
for example:
- permanent homes made from concrete
- one or two persons to a room
- piped connection for bathrooms and kitchens
- one or more toilets for a family
-house on bought or leased land
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (environment)
* access to safe drinking water*
- as of 2010, 89% of the world’s population now have access to safe drinking water
>99% of the people living in DCs
>86% of those in LDCs have access to safe drinking water
why does health differ between LDCs and DCs? (environment)
proper sanitation
- the number of people with access to proper sanitation has been increasing
- in 1990, only 49% of the world had access to proper sanitation
- by2010, the number increased to 63%
>but as of 2015, 2.4 billion people still do not have access to proper sanitation
which disease cause more deaths in DCs and LDCs infectious diseases
- even though infectious diseases are less common in DCs
> individual cases of infectious diseases such as pneumonia and bronchitis still occur
which disease cause more deaths in DCs and LDCs degenerative diseases
- cancer accounted for 7.6 million deaths worldwide and 13% of all deaths in 2008
- high income countries had more than double the rate of all cancers combined compared to low-income countries
> important risk factors of cancer include smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive consumption of alcohol
