10.1.3

Variations in Health

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Human Health and Life Expectancy in the Developing World

There are large variations in health and life expectancy in the developing world that can be explained by different access to basic needs such as food, water supply and sanitation.

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Life expectancy (LE)

  • In much of the world, LE is now over 65 years.
  • The main exception is much of Africa.
  • There is relatively high LE in South America, North Africa, the Middle East and throughout most of Asia.
  • There are gender differences. In nearly all populations, female LE is greater.
    • In the UK, LE for men is 78.4 years but 82.8 years for women.
    • But in Botswana, it is 56.0 years for men and 52.3 for women, the key factor being the high rate of maternal mortality (death during childbirth).
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Health

  • Other than LE, there are few other reliable indicators of health in the developing world.
  • One is the number of doctors per 100,000 people.
  • Another is the % of the population with regular access to essential drugs.
  • There is a positive correlation between LE and per capita income:
    • With decreasing income, access to food, clean water and sanitation become less guaranteed.
  • A shortfall in any of these necessities immediately increases the risks of disease, ill health and premature death.

Human Health and Life Expectancy in the Developed World

Variations in health and life expectancy in the developed world are largely because of differences in lifestyles, levels of deprivation and the availability, cost and effectiveness of medical care.

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Factors

  • Deprivation describes a situation of poor diet, poor housing and poor healthcare.
  • These symptoms of poverty combine to create health risks that ultimately increase the death rate and lower the LE.
  • Unhealthy lifestyles also carry health risks, such as obesity, smoking, alcoholism and heart disease.
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Health care

  • Some countries have national health services that are ‘free’, funded by some form of taxation.
  • Some countries have healthcare which is largely in the private sector and paid for either through social health insurance or on an ‘as and when’ basis.
  • There are also considerable variations in health care spending, particularly when expressed in per capita terms.
  • These variations are often reflected in the range of healthcare services provided and in their quality and effectiveness.

Variations in Human Health and Life Expectancy Within Countries

There are significant variations in health within countries. Factors such as ethnicity and gender play a role in these variations.

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Factors

  • Factors that play a significant role in causing life expectancy (LE) to vary internally include ethnicity, poverty and deprivation, lifestyle socio-economic group and access to health care.
    • E.g. In Australia, LE for Aboriginal people is 10 years lower than for non-indigenous people.
    • Here, factors include poor housing, low levels of education, high unemployment, discrimination, alcohol abuse and heavy smoking.
    • Most of these factors can be attributed to historical prejudice against Aboriginal people.

Jump to other topics

1Tectonic Processes & Hazards

2Option 2A: Glaciated Landscapes & Change

3Option 2B: Coastal Landscapes & Change

4Globalisation

5Option 4A: Regenerating Places

6Option 4B: Diverse Places

7The Water Cycle & Water Insecurity (A2 only)

8The Carbon Cycle & Energy Security (A2 only)

9Superpowers (A2 only)

10Option 8A: Health & Human Rights (A2 only)

11Option 8B: Migration & Identity (A2 only)

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