Socio-Economic Development and Health
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Question One
There are a number of ways in which the increasing socio-economic development of a nation can help improve the health of the population.
There is a correlation between mortality rates in the developing countries, especially amongst children, and the level of education of the parents of the children. For example, in Morocco, a mother who has completed 4-6 years of schooling, their child is 45% less likely to have died by the age of 2, compared with childs mother who has had no school (Book 3,
Food provisions are a necessity to maintaining a healthy population. There are many facets to food, mainly the distribution and supply of food, and the quality and nutritional ingredients of food. Food needs to be of good, sustainable quality so that it provides people with the basic supply of vitamins and minerals to live, and has to be easily accessible so that everyone in the nation can benefit. Developed countries have pioneered the way of preserving food for longer (i.e. use of plastics), and developing countries have benefited from this, but the developed world has also introduced new fear factors regarding food such as contamination (BSE, Salmonella etc) and additives, and, the long term effects of such advancements is beginning to materialise (Book 3,
Reducing the gap between the social classes will provide a better overall health and wealth of a nation. Those living in the lower social classes have a lower life expectancy than those in higher social classes (Book 3,
Question 2
Communicable diseases are infectious and parasitic diseases that can be spread by air, food, and water or by insects. Diseases such as Tuberculosis (Tb), malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and AIDs. The current crisis concerning communicable diseases has a massive impact on a countries economy, health and life expectancy of its population. This can be clearly seen when comparing the differences between developed countries and developing countries.
In the developing world, communicable disease accounts for half of the top twelve causes of death, yet in the developed world they are all but eradicated. Almost 26% of the top twelve causes of deaths (Book 3,
The most common methods used to indicate the health of a nation is by measuring Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) and Life expectancy. High IMR is partly due to communicable diseases and is also closely linked to high adult mortality rates. In South Africa the IMR is 8 times greater compared to the UK and the life expectancy of a male in South Africa is 13 years less than in the UK (Book 3,
In the fight to control communicable diseases it is important to recognise that there are many factors that contribute to the spread of disease and that these factors are complex and often perpetuate each other. A multi-disciplinary approach needs to be taken.
In the case of Tb, vaccinations and drug therapy was used to aid in the decline of this disease. A drug therapy strategy set up by WHO for the purpose of addressing the Tb epidemic is the Directly-Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) programme. This involves patients being monitored while taking their drug therapy. Health workers keep a record, which is then sent to a national register. The WHO claim that this programme can cure up to 95% of TB patients (Book1,
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