Health Issues Flashcards
What is health?
Your physical, mental and social well-being, and the absence of disease.
How can you measure health?
By using health indicators (e.g healthy life expectancy).
What is the global pattern of healthy life expectancy (HLE)?
HLE is highest in wealthier countries and lowest in poorer countries.
What does morbidity mean?
Illness.
What are the 2 morbidity indicators?
Prevalence and incidence.
What is prevalence?
The total number of cases in a population at a particular time.
What is incidence?
The number of new cases in a population during a particular time period.
What is the global pattern of infectious diseases?
Infectious diseases are highest in poorer countries and lowest in wealthier countries. For example - Tuberculosis is common in poorer countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, and less common in wealthier countries such as the UK and USA.
Why is the morbidity high for infectious diseases in poorer countries?
Malnutrition (due to poor food availability and periodic famines) reduces the body’s ability to fight disease. Lack of clean water and sanitation increases the spread of infectious diseases. Overcrowded conditions in urban areas increases the spread of infectious diseases. Poor access to health care means people can’t access drugs to treat and prevent infectious diseases. Limited health education means people aren’t well informed about how they can avoid infectious diseases. Disease vectors are more common in poorer countries, for example the mosquitos that spread malaria are more common in tropical regions of Africa.
What is the global pattern of non-communicable diseases?
Non-comminicable diseases are highest in wealthier countries and lowest in poorer countries. For example - there’s a high breast cancer morbidity in wealthier countries such as the UK and USA, and low breast cancer morbidity in poorer countries in Africa.
Why is the morbidity high for non-communicable diseases in richer countries?
There’s a higher proportion of older people (due to a higher life expectancy) meaning that more people are likely to suffer from diseases associated with old age. Unhealthy lifestyles lead to an increased risk if you’re overweight or obese, eat unhealthy food and don’t do enough exercise, these factors are more common in wealthier countries.
What is mortality?
Death.
What is the mortality rate?
How many people die in a population over a period of time.
What is the global pattern of mortality?
Wealthier countries have a high mortality rate for non-communicable diseases, but only a low percentage of cases result in death. The mortality rate from non-communicable diseases is lower in poorer areas, but the percentage of cases resulting in death is much higher.
What is the link between morbidity and mortality?
Morbidity causes mortality.
Why is the risk of dying from a disease higher in poorer countries?
Malnutrition reduces the body’s ability to fight disease. Poor access to health care means people can’t access the drugs they need to treat the disease.
Why are infectious diseases global issues?
Because they can spread to other countries and can even spread around the world, for example HIV/AIDS now affects all countries.
What do the World Health Organisation (WHO) do?
They work with most governments in most countries to help eradicate and prevent disease. For example, they run a programme of vaccinations (paid for by richer countries) to eradicate polio (an infectious disease mainly found in poorer countries).
What is the health care approach like in poorer countries?
In poorer countries the national income is low, so spending on healthcare tends to be low too. A large proportion of the money that’s available is spent on treating large numbers of patients with diseases, leaving little money available for preventative healthcare and education. Preventing diseases is often a more effective way to improve health than just treating disease. Some poorer countries rely heavily on foreign aid to help with healthcare (e.g. donated medicines and medical equipment). Foreign aid can help poorer countries improve health care services in the short-term but longer-term solutions are needed so countries can become self reliant.
How have poorer countries improved healthcare for remote populations?
They can train local people in basic health care and employ them to provide basic health care services to their local communities. Services include first aid, treating common diseases, providing medicines and vaccination, pregnancy support and midwifery, and health education.
What are the advantages of training local health care workers?
It’s a relatively inexpensive way of improving healthcare and health education in rural areas. It creates jobs for local people. It increases self-reliance of communities. Local basic health care workers are unlikely to leave (doctors often migrate to wealthier countries where the pay is better).
What are the disadvantages of training local health care workers?
Basic health care workers can’t replace fully trained medical professionals. So long-term solutions must improve access to proper medical facilities and fully trained staff.
What is the problem with health in Ethiopia?
It’s one of the poorest countries in the world. There’s widespread poor health, e.g. the life expectancy is only 52 years old and infant mortality is at 8%. People have poor nutrition, poor sanitation and unclean water. Infectious diseases are very common. There’s a shortage of medical professionals and health facilities, especially in remote rural areas - in some areas there are only 3 doctors to every 100,000 people.
What solutions are there to the health problem in Ethiopia?
Ethiopia’s government receives foreign aid to improve health, sanitation and access to clean water. Some of the money’s spent on preventative health care such as vaccinations and contraceptives. Foreign aid funds the Health Extension Programme, which trains local healthcare workers in rural areas. Workers deliver basic health care and health education, but more heal workers are still needed by many communities. Money is being used to prevent disease. Since 2005, millions of insecticide treated bed nets have been given out - a cost effective way of preventing the spread of malaria by mosquitos. In one year, the number of new malaria cases fell by 20%.
Why is health bad in wealthier countries?
Ageing populations mean there is a higher proportion of older people due to a high life expectancy and a low birth rate, so more people suffer from age related illnesses. Lifestyles choices also affect health. Choosing to eat healthily, exercise, not smoke and reduce alcohol consumption can improve your health. The key barrier to improving health in richer countries is people ignoring advice of lifestyle changes that would reduce the chance of developing diseases.
What is the health care approach like in wealthier countries?
A great deal of money is spent on preventative health care, such as providing vaccinations against diseases, health awareness campaigns to promote good lifestyle choices, providing support services to help people improve their health (e.g. quitting smoking) and early diagnosis such as screening.
What is the problem with cervical cancer in England?
Nearly 3000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in England, which can cause death if left untreated. 99% of all cervical cancers are caused by a virus called HPV (human papillomavirus).
What are the solutions to cervical cancer in England?
Some forms of cervical cancer are preventable by stopping infection with HPV. A HPV vaccine is now offered to all girls aged 12-13 in England. Cervical screening is offered to all women over 25 in England. Unusual cells can be detected early, allowing treatment to prevent cancer. Death rates from cervical cancer have decreased by nearly 70% since screening began.
How does disease affect health?
Increases poor health in the population and in some cases permanent disability and death.
How does disease affect economic development?
Slow economic development due to increasing death rates (so fewer taxes go to the government), decreasing productivity (due to days lost from work) and increasing health care costs.
How does disease affect lifestyle?
Increased poverty (due to days lost form work and increasing health care costs), impaired learning (due to days lost from school) and a downward spiral as the poorest families are trapped in poverty.
What is malaria?
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites.
