Topic 6: Health and Diseases
Key Question 1: What are the global patterns of health and diseases?
What are the indices used to measure health?
· Variations in health of people between DCs and LDCs in terms of the following indicators:
– Infant mortality rate
– Life expectancy
How and why does health of people differ between DCs and LDCs?
· Factors accounting for variations in health of people in DCs and LDCs
– Social
o Diet
o Lifestyle choices
o Education
– Economic
o Poverty/affluence
o Investment in healthcare and access to health services
– Environmental
o Living conditions
o Access to safe drinking water
o Proper sanitation
Which diseases cause more deaths in DCs than LDCs?
· Variations in types of diseases between DCs and LDCs
– Degenerative diseases
o Main causes of death in DCs
o Global distribution of degenerative diseases (e.g. heart attack, cancer, diabetes)
– Infectious diseases
o Main causes of death in LDCs
o Global distribution of infectious diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever, HIV/AIDS)
What influences the spread and impact of infectious diseases?(*Focus is on Malaria and HIV/AIDS)
What were the major disease outbreaks in the past?
What is the scale at which diseases occur?
· Definition and examples of major disease outbreaks in the past
– Epidemic (e.g. flu outbreak of 1918)
– Pandemic (e.g. 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS))
What is malaria and how is it transmitted?
How common is malaria in the world and in a selected Asian country?
Who are the vulnerable groups exposed to malaria?
Malaria in the world and in Asia (e.g. India, Bangladesh, Indonesia)
· Mode of transmission and geographical spread of the disease
– Transmission via mosquito-human-mosquito chain
– Extent of spread: number of cases and geographical spread in an Asian country and in the world
o Endemic to certain regions and countries
– Pattern of spread of disease: expansion diffusion
– Vulnerable groups: pregnant women and children
What factors contribute to the spread of malaria?
· Factors contributing to the spread:
– Social
o Lack of proper sanitation
– Economic
o Limited access to and provision of healthcare and preventive measures such as nets and insect repellents
– Environmental
o Poor drainage and stagnant water
o Effect of climate
o Overcrowded living conditions
What is the impact of malaria?
· Impacts of malaria
– Social
o Death rate
o Infant mortality rate
– Economic
o Loss of productivity resulting in slower economic growth
o Burden of malaria on households
o Cost of health care
What is HIV/AIDS and how is it transmitted?
How common is HIV/AIDS in the world and in a selected country?
Who are the vulnerable groups?
HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world and in Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. Botswana, Uganda, Swaziland)
· Mode of transmission and geographical spread of the disease
– Modes of transmission
o Sexual contact with infected person
o Sharing of infected needles
o Transfusions of infected blood
o Babies born to HIV-infected women
– Extent of spread: number of cases and geographical spread in a Sub-Saharan country and in the world
– Pattern of spread of disease: expansion and relocation diffusion
– Vulnerable groups: babies and females
What factors contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS?
· Factors contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS
– Social
o Education
o Lifestyle choices
o Social stigma related to disease
o Lapses in medical practices
– Economic
o Vice trades
o Mobility
What is the impact of HIV/AIDS?
Impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic
– Social
o Life expectancy
o Infant mortality rate
o Orphan crisis
– Economic
o Cost of health care
Loss of productivity resulting in slower economic growth
Key Question 3: How can we manage the current and future spread of infectious diseases?
What are the challenges in managing the spread of infectious diseases?
Why is there a re-emergence in malaria?
· Challenges in managing the spread of malaria:
– Socio-economic
o Limitations of health care
o Population movement due to efficient transport and communications
– Environmental
o Effects of monsoons
o Effects of climate change
· Challenges in managing the spread of HIV/AIDS:
– Socio-economic
o Lifestyle choices
o Difficulties in HIV detection
o Social stigma leading to non-reporting of disease
o High cost of antiretroviral therapy
o Population movement across borders and along highways for work
What can individuals, communities, governments and organisations do to help to manage the spread of infectious diseases?
· Role of different groups in managing outbreak and spread of infectious diseases:
– Individuals: awareness and practice of precautionary measures
– Communities
– Government
o Implementation of precautionary measures
Ø Thermal fogging for malaria
Ø Border controls for HIV/AIDS
o Implementation of mitigation measures
Ø Provision of health care services
Ø Mandatory reporting of disease by doctors
Ø International organisations such as World Health Organisation and other non-governmental organisations
With reference to a case study of either malaria or HIV/AIDS in a selected country, consider the following questions:
1) What are the challenges associated with managing the spread of the disease?
2) What are the social and economic impacts of the disease on the selected country?
3) What measures have been adopted by individuals, government and international organisations to manage the disease?
4) How successful are the measures in containing the spread of the disease?