Health (AQA AS Geography)

Terms in this set (61)

Relates to ill-health of a person/population. It is measured by the prevalence or incidence of a disease, disability adjusted life years (healthy years lost) and long-term illness and is derived from census data.

Mortality

Refers to deaths within the population. It is measured by the crude death rate- or by age specific rates- linked to a
specific cause.

HIV

Virus that attacks CD4 cells (type of white blood cell), which weakens the immune system

AIDs

The condition (resulting from HIV) where the body's immune system can no longer fight certain diseases, and so, the sufferer is susceptible to dying from a range of diseases

How many deaths did HIV cause in 2006

2.1 million

Global distribution of HIV

32% of people living with HIV (39 million) are from sub-Saharan Africa

Why is HIV prevalent in Africa (3)

1) Poor access to contraception
2) Lack of education about disease
3) High presence of poligamy

Reasons for high proportion of deaths (3)

1) ARV drugs are expensive and are in limited supply
2) Poor living conditions and malnutrition make people even more vulnerable to opportunistic infections
3) No cure (ARVs only delay death)

Economic impact of HIV/AIDs

1) Countries worst affected by HIV/AIDS suffer GDP losses of up to 1.5% a year; after 25 years their economies will be 31% smaller than they should be
2) It strikes adults at a mature age when they are potentially most productive
3) Damages health care system from a loss of health care workers that are directly effected by the epidemic (40% of midwives in Zambia have HIV)

Impact of HIV on health (2)

1) Reduces life expectancy- people who have developed AIDs, and have no treatment, typically survive about 3 years
2) People contract a range of diseases, such as TB

Impact of HIV on lifestyle (2)

1) Unable to work, and so, become dependant on family members. In Botswana, it's estimated that every income owner is likely acquire one additional dependant in the next 10 years as a result of HIV.
2) Stigmatisation about the disease. People infected may be shunned by family members and their community.

Type 2 Diabetes

Condition where a person's blood sugar level is too high. It occurs when the body doesn't produce enough insulin or the body's cells no longer respond to insulin.

Numbers affected by type 2 diabetes

300 million people worldwide, this number is rising by 8 million every year. In 2011 there were over 2.9 million people in the UK with the disease.

Global distribution of Type 2 diabetes

More prevalent in MEDCs where obesity is rife (there is a very strong correlation between obesity and diabetes-0.9)

Impact of Type 2 diabetes on health (3)

1) Reduces life expectancy by up to 10 years
2) Causes circulation problems which means people are at greater risk of heart disease or having a stroke
3) Can cause kidney disease and recurrent skin infections

Impact of Type 2 diabetes on lifestyle (3)

1) They may have to take regular injections of insulin for the rest of their life
2) Sufferers are generally required to quit smoking and make lifestyle changes (eg. eating a more balanced diet)
3) It makes people more tired, so effects people's productivity at work and their ability to take part in social activities

Economic impact of type 2 diabetes (3)

1) Directly and indirectly impacts economic development- the cost of diabetes in the US in 1992 was estimated at $91.8bn
2) Decreases labour output as people take time off work for hospital appointments
3) Increases pressure on medical services as they are heavier users. Americans with diabetes have 2-5x higher per capita total medical expenditure than people without diabetes

Malnutrition

Condition that occurs when a person's diet does not provide an adequate amount of nutrients, such as calcium and protein, for growth and repair

Famine

The inability of a large group of people to obtain food in an area. It is accompanied by severe malnutrition, starvation and increased mortality

What were the causes of the 1984 Ethiopian famine (3)

1) 3 years of severe drought and crop failure
2) Civil war that prevented aid from reaching the people
3) High rates of poverty- GNP per capita was $187

Effects of the 1984 Ethiopian famine (2)

1) 1 person died every 20 minutes
2) Small town of Korem, in the North, acted as a refugee camp for 40'000 people, most of whom were starving to death

Causes of the 2000 Ethiopian famine (2)

1) Severe drought in 200 that affected nearly half the population
2) Rapid population growth (2.7%) meant increased pressure on the land

Effects of the 2000 Ethiopian famine

1) 95% of livestock had been killed by the drought or by their herdsman for food.

Why periodic famine occurs

It occurs where and when poverty- often concentrated on a fragile degrading resource base- interacts with poor economic, agricultural, social and demographic policies

Why high poverty causes famine

Poor people do not have the resources to obtain food when it is scarce. They are also more reliant on subsistence farming which is more susceptible to the effect of rains

Why war causes famine

It jeopardises imports, contaminates land/water supply (bombs and land mines) and displaces people from their land (they rely on aid)

Obesity

Medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health

How is obesity measured

by BMI which takes into account the ratio of weight and height

Reason for rise in obesity (2)

1) Increased availability of cheap, energy-dense, processed food as a result of a rapid decrease in the cost of sugar production
2) People leading more sedentary lifestyles as a result of fewer people working in manual jobs and increased private vehicle ownership

Economic impact of Obesity (2)

1) Places a greater strain on public healthcare systems. It costs the NHS £5bn a year
2) Lowered productivity from an unhealthy workforce

Impact of obesity on health (2)

1) Reduces a persons life expectancy and quality of life
2) Causes a variety of long-term health problems, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which increases mortality. 1 in 10 deaths in the UK are from obesity-related conditions.

Reducing the prevalence of obesity (4)

1) Introduction of laws that require foods to simplify labelling and making it clear how much energy a portion of food will contain
2) Education programmes in schools about healthy eating and having an active lifestyle
3) Changing school meals
4) Making companies and retailers take responsibility to offer healthier options

Universal health care

Healthcare is state-supported, and is funded by taxation. Facilities are mainly publicly owned

People in the UK don't have private healthcare

89%

Problems with the NHS

1) Under strain to provide for an ageing population. Taxes may not be enough to cover costs.
2) Taxes are high in the UK compared to some other countries, and will need to be increased if no private healthcare is used

Socialised health care

Healthcare is a state-provided public service where the state's role in healthcare is total

Number of healthcare professionals in cuba

130'000

Life expectancy in cuba

75.8 for males and 80.5 for females

Issues with socialised healthcare in Cuba (2)

1) Healthcare has been prioritised over other services, such as education and transport
2) Tax is very high, income tax in Cuba can be as high as 50%

Pluralistic health care

healthcare is viewed as a consumer product and is funded by the private sector. Private health insurance is available through employers, private schemes or the government

Medicaid

Insurance provided by the federal government for low-income needy groups (eg. children)

Medicare

Insurance provided by the federal government for 65+, some disabled and people undergoing kidney dialysis or transplants

How much of the population does medicare cover

13%

Positive about pluralistic

The US has some of the best healthcare facilities in the world

Drawbacks of US healthcare (3)

1) 15.3% (46m people) of the population do not have medical insurance
2) US citizens pay nearly twice the amount on healthcare than what is paid in some other countries
3) Half of all personal bankruptcies in the US are partially as a result of medical expenses

British-American Tobacco (4)

1) 2nd largest tobacco company by sales
2) Employs 55'000 people worldwide
3) Owns the brand lucky strike
4) Their HQ is in London

Positive impacts of tobacco TNCs in Indonesia (2)

1) The industry provides 10m jobs, and accounts for 10% of Indonesia's GDP
2) Large revenues can be generated from tobacco tax

Negative impacts of tobacco TNCs in Indonesia (4)

1) Tobacco TNCs can advertise cigarettes freely. This, combined with the lack of education about smoking, means young people are persuaded to smoke
2) Smoking kills up to half of its users, there are around 200'000 smoking-related deaths in Indonesia each year
3) There is no minimum age for smoking and the number of people smoking aged between 5-9 has increased 7-fold
4) Decreased food production due to more tobacco farming

Regional differences in morbidity in the UK

Health is generally worse in the north. Scotland is the least healthy by almost every measure; 8 out of the 10 worst areas in the UK for life expectancy are in Scotland.
Rural have better health than urban areas

Effect of income and occupation on morbidity

1) Southern England is more affluent than the north. Wealth improves a persons access to private healthcare and exercise facilities, and means people can afford a better quality of diet.
2) More industrial cities are in the North, and so, there are more manual jobs. A person with an unskilled manual job is 3x more likely suffer from poor health than someone who doesn't.

Effect of education on morbidity

The better educated a person is the more likely they are to chose a healthier lifestyle

Effect of environment on morbidity

Pollution and poor air quality in cities increases the prevalence of respiratory diseases (the exception Kensington& Chelsea where life expectancy is 86.2)

Effect of age structure on morbidity

Some areas have a higher proportion of old people (eg. Isle of Purbeck, Dorset). The elderly are more likely to suffer from age-related diseases, such as cancer.

Glasgow Effect

Glasgow suffers from a combination of negative factors that means the city has the lowest life expectancy in the UK (69.9 for males)

Social and lifestyle issues in Glasgow (2)

1) High smoking rates (40%)- accounting for 34% of deaths in the city
2) Misuse of drugs; Glasgow accounts for 35% of drug-related deaths in Scotland

GSK research and production (2)

1) GSK is largest UK-based pharmaceutical TNC
2) GSK produces almost 4bn packs of medicines and healthcare products each year, including 1/4 of the worlds vaccines

Pharmaceutical TNCs- Pros (3)

1) They are able to invest large amounts of money into research and development of drugs that act as a cures for diseases
2) Pharmaceutical companies employ hundreds of thousands of people- GSK employs almost 10'000 people in over 100 countries
3) Some companies, such as GSK, provide drugs at special prices for less developed countries (GSK has provided over 206 million)

Pharmaceutical TNCs- research (con)

Most research is into non-communicable diseases as they mainly occur in more affluent countries and so offer a greater potential for large profits. Diseases, such as malaria receive less attention

Pharmaceutical TNCs- branded drugs (con)

Many drugs are sold under different names- those sold by major pharmaceutical companies directly (the 'designer label' versions) are more expensive than the generic copies- that perform the same function at affordable prices.

Pharmaceutical TNCs- targeting doctors (con)

Many companies target doctors with regard to selling their products rather than the patients - and they are sold principally for profit

Pharmaceutical TNCs- symptoms treated (con)

Often, symptoms are treated rather than the cause - as this is more lucrative (eg. manufacturing of iron tablets as opposed to changing people's diet)

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