Geography Of Disease

Front 1

Describe the difference between a non-communicable disease and a communicable disease, using relevant examples.

Back 1

A disease is a pathological condition that affects an organ, body part or system as a result of environmental stress, infection or genetic defect. Communicable disease can be contagious and are caused by pathogens, such as malaria. Non-communicable diseases are not contagious and are a result of nutritional, lifestyle, genetic or degenerative reasons, such as obesity or dementia. Non-communicable diseases are usually chronic.

Front 2

Briefly investigate the work of John Snow - which disease did he analyse? How have the early spot maps created by John Snow in 1854 changed modern day Geography?

Back 2

John Snow is viewed by many as a pioneer in disease mapping and spacial epidemiology. In 1854, he recognised that statistics could be used to learn about disease and how it spreads. He made dot maps of Cholera deaths in specific London households compared to their proximity to the communal water pump. This showed the cause and effect relationship between the source of the disease and infected population.

Front 3

What four factors contribute toward the prevalence and patterns of disease? List one example of each factor and explain how it could impact disease prevalence/diffusion.

Back 3

There are a number of factors that contribute towards the prevalence and patterns of disease. These include physical, lifestyle, political and socio-economic factors.
Physical factors include climate, natural disasters, limited natural resources and the quality of water and soil. These factors can impact the spread of communicable disease, especially vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
Lifestyle factors include diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise and stress. These factors do not have a large effect in less developed countries, but can cause or impact non-communicable diseases in developed countries.
Political factors, such as limited human rights (particularly for women and children), war or civil unrest, and government instability or corruption can impact the prevalence of communicable disease.
Socio-economic factors, such as level of development, poverty, poor diet and lack of education have a great impact on the spread of disease, both communicable and non-communicable. A countries level of development can affect how it deals with other factors contributing towards the prevalence and patterns of disease. Less developed countries are often in poverty, which makes it difficult for people to access healthcare. Many are also situated in areas with poor physical factors, which prevent development. Poverty and poor diet make people more susceptible to disease. Lack of education can prevent people from escaping the cycle of poverty, as well as often meaning that they do not know how to prevent disease.

Front 4

Explain why there is a link between high levels of disease and poverty (using Cholera or HIV/AIDS as an example). Refer to at least one country/region studied in class

Back 4

There is a prevalence of communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS in less developed countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to economic, social and cultural issues. Because most of these countries are in poverty, most people suffer from poor diet and malnutrition, which makes them more susceptible to contracting communicable disease. There is also often poor sanitation and waste disposal, including sewage and dead bodies, which increases the risk of contracting communicable diseases that may worsen the effect of HIV/AIDS.
Economically, there is often little government funding due to civil unrest, war and natural disasters such as flooding and drought. This makes it difficult for antiretroviral drugs to be distributed to those who are infected. The presence of disease also affects the productivity of the population, which can decrease the GDP and make it hard for prevention to be implemented due to a lack of funding.
Socially, there is a lack of education, particularly sexual health education. There is also poor family planning and many misunderstandings surrounding HIV/AIDS. There are also little women’s rights in these countries, as well as high incidences of rape. These factors increase the spread of disease.
Culturally, inappropriate circumcision of both males and females can spread HIV/AIDS through increased exposure to blood-to-blood contact.
These factors combine to contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS in less developed countries being significantly greater than in developed countries.

Front 5

What is the epidemiological transition model? Name and briefly describe two practical applications of the ETM for policy makers.

Back 5

The epidemiological transition model shows how modern progress, including affluence, housing, nutrition, healthcare and better standards of living influence the health of populations. There are four stages of the epidemiological transition model.
The first stage is The Age of Pestilence and Famine. In this stage, mortality rates are high and fluctuating, which prevents sustained population growth. The life expectancy at birth is low and variable, between 20 and 40 years of age. Populations are highly susceptible to communicable disease due to malnutrition. This stage is similar to stage 1 in the DTM, with high birth and death rates.
The second stage is The Age of Receding Pandemics. This stage is characterised by mortality rates declining progressively, with the rate of decline becoming greater as epidemic peaks become less frequent or disappear. Life expectancy at birth rises from 30 to 50 years. Population growth begins to form an exponential curve (J curve), like in stage 2 of the demographic transition model.
The third stage is The Age of Man-Made and Degenerative Diseases. In this stage, mortality continues to decrease and eventually approaches stability at a low level. The average life expectancy rises until it exceeds 50 years. Due to the decrease in epidemics and the increase in life expectancy, people are exposed to non-communicable diseases of age and lifestyle factors. Fertility becomes the crucial factor in population growth, such as in stage 3 of the DTM.
The fourth and final stage is The Age of Delayed Degenerative Diseases. This stage sees people in developed countries live longer due to an increase in availability of medical care. Age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, are more prevalent. This stage may see a negative population growth, such as in stage 4 of the DTM.
The ETM has a number of practical applications, including outlining an agenda for future health care strategies, particularly for governments, and providing a direction for those responsible for drafting policy and planning the logistics surrounding future medical research and health services.

Front 6

Outline three factors that can affect the ETM and explain how they impact the progression of change in the ETM

Back 6

Demography
- As societies become healthier, there are reductions in infant mortality and an increase in life expectancy. More people survive through to adulthood, which increases their risk of dying from non-communicable diseases such as cancer.

Overcrowding
- Increased migration to urban areas leads to the expansion of high-density living sites like slums and refugee camps in less developed countries. In developed countries, overcrowding in education and healthcare facilities creates opportunities for infections to be passed on.

Environmental changes
- Increased pollution exposes people to more diseases. This may occur through exposure to hazardous chemicals in pesticides and herbicides, water pollution (typhoid) and air pollution (lung cancer).

Front 7

Dominance of chronic age-related, degenerative diseases in the Western, urbanised countries vs. infectious transmissible diseases in LDC’s – Why is this so?

Back 7

In the developed countries, there is a very small percentage of communicable diseases, and a large amount of non-communicable conditions. This is because more developed countries are able to keep most infectious diseases under control due to advanced healthcare, water and sanitation, education and other services. People in developed countries are commonly subject to non-communicable conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
In less developed countries, infectious diseases are still wide-spread. Due to the lack of development, there is little access to services such as healthcare that prevent the spread of these preventable diseases in developed countries. Non-communicable diseases are not as widespread due to lack of changes in lifestyle such as smoking and over-eating. As well as this, not many people survive through to adulthood to be exposed to these diseases.

Front 8

Explain three of the predicted impacts of climate change upon disease distribution and prevalence worldwide

Back 8

- Expanse of warmer areas
The expanse of warmer areas increases the amount of tropical climate where vector-borne diseases are common. This will lead to the spread of these diseases to countries where they were previously not found.
- Greater difficulty in regulating body temperature
This would make people more susceptible to contracting diseases and possibly make the effects more severe due to a decrease in the immune system.
- Increase in water-borne diseases as people place further demand on finite water supplies
Increased demand on finite water supplies will decrease the water quality and result in stagnant water. This would lead to increased vectors and the prevalence of vector-borne disease in these areas.

Front 9

Outline the role of women in improving health in LDCs

Back 9

Women play a large role in healthcare, particularly in less developed countries. Many societies traditionally rely on women to take responsibility of caring for the sick or injured, as well as caring for children. Due to gender disparity, women are still expected to carry out these roles in many parts of the world. These women also often have to tend to crops and livestock to provide for their families. Women often have limited access to healthcare and basic medical services. These factors can prevent women from getting an education and breaking the cycle of poverty both for themselves and for future generations, which impacts health.