2. BY THE END OF THE LESSON
We will be able to
1. Describe the indicators used to measure
health.
2. Describe the variations in the health of
people between DCs and LDCs.
3. Explain the variations in the health of
people between DCs and LDCs.
3. INDICATORS USED TO MEASURE HEALTH
1. Infant mortality rate (IMR)
– Number of infants that die before reaching
one year old per 1000 live births in year.
2. Life expectancy
– The average number of years from the time of
birth that a person can expect to live.
3. Daily calories intake
– The energy obtained from food consumed per
person per day.
7. QUESTION
• Why are there variations in the health of
people between DCs and LDCs?
8. REASONS FOR VARIATIONS
• Economic
– Poverty/affluence, investment in healthcare
and access to health services
• Social
– Diet, lifestyle, education
• Environmental
– Living conditions, access to safe drinking
water, proper sanitation
9. POVERTY AND AFFLUENCE
• People in LDCs are more likely to suffer from
poor health as they suffer from poverty,
which limits their purchasing power to afford
basic healthcare, hence exposing them to
health risks.
• For example,
• at around $850, Malawi has one of the lowest
GDP per capita in the world which prevented
the people from meeting their health needs.
10. POVERTY AND AFFLUENCE
• People in DCs are likely to enjoy good health
as they enjoy affluence, which provides
people with greater access to food and better
quality health services, thereby increasing
their resistance to diseases and improving
their ability to deal with diseases.
• For example,
11. INVESTMENT IN HEALTHCARE
• People in LDCs are likely to suffer from poor
health as the investment in healthcare
devoted by their governments is low,
resulting in less hospitals, clinics, healthcare
professionals and supplies.
• For example,
12. ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
• People in DCs are likely to enjoy good health
as they enjoy high accessibility to
healthcare as health services are within
reasonable distance and have sufficient
capacity to meet the needs of the people.
• For example,
13. DIET
• People in LDCs are likely to suffer from poor
health as they are more likely to have poor
diets which results in malnutrition, which
can lead to damaged tissues and organs.
• For example,
14. LIFESTYLE
• People in DCs may suffer from poor health as
the more affluent people are more likely to
lead sedentary lifestyles due to the easy
availability of hired help and the convenience
of technology that contributes to physical
inactivity.
• For example,
15. EDUCATION
• More people in DCs enjoy good health as
more people are educated, hence more likely
to be informed on how to lead a healthy
lifestyle. They are also able to earn higher
incomes that give them greater access to
medical treatment, food and living
conditions.
• For example,
16. LIVING CONDITIONS
• People in LDCs are likely to suffer from poor
health as they tend to live in poor living
conditions such as in slums that are
overcrowded which contribute to the spread
of diseases.
• For example,
17. ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
• People in LDCs are likely to suffer from poor
health as the accessibility to safe drinking
water is low, which contributes to the spread
of waterborne diseases such as cholera and
also lead poisoning.
• For example,
18. PROPER SANITATION
• People in LDCs are likely to suffer from poor
health as they do not have proper
sanitation hence resulting in the dumping of
sewage into water bodies such as rivers which
creates pollution that led to the spread of
waterborne diseases.
• For example,
20. BY THE END OF THE LESSON
We will be able to
1. Describe the variations in the types of
diseases between DCs and LDCs.
21. TYPES OF DISEASES
• Infectious diseases are caused by
pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria,
viruses, parasites and fungi. These diseases
can be spread directly or indirectly from one
person to another.
• Degenerative diseases are diseases where
the function of affected tissues or organs
changes for the worse over time because of
lifestyle choices, wear and tear or genetic
causes. These diseases are not contagious.
