The Challenges of Preventing an Influenza Pandemic on Populations of Developing Countries
One of the most common illnesses is influenza. It is a contagious viral infection that usually affects the respiratory passages, causes severe symptoms, and can occur in an epidemic. An epidemic is the slow spread of an infectious disease to a large number of people in a population within a short period of time (Wikipedia). A pandemic is an epidemic outbreak of an infectious disease that can spread through populations and even worldwide. Since 1918, there have been four influenza pandemics. From 1918 to 1919, the Spanish flu (H1N1) spread worldwide and killed 50 million people and 670,000 people in the United States (Pandemic flu history). From 1957 to …show more content…
Many populations in developing countries live in poverty. As Shah mentioned in Health Care Around the World, “health gaps typically mirror equality gaps,” meaning that people living in poverty typically live in poor health while poor health makes it difficult to get out of poverty (Shah, 2011). In addition to poverty, some people might live in rural areas, where they have no accessibility to health care or services. Corruption in a country also contributes to the inability to access to healthcare. In many developing countries, the number of physicians and medical professionals that can attend patients is disproportionate with the population (Shah, 2011). Even with access to health care, the method of payment is usually out-of-pocket for the point of service. Either families do not receive the proper care because they cannot afford it or it pushes families into poverty because of medical expenses (Shah,2011). It is usually in wealthier countries, which have a universal health care system with affordable payments for patients (Shah, …show more content…
In some cases, this is due to culture issues, in which some families prefer traditional methods, because they are unaware of modern treatment. However, poor health in a population becomes a norm, and recognizing illnesses becomes difficult for health care demand (O’Donnell, 2007). For example, 2 in 5 children are not fully vaccinated in India, although immunization is free (O’Donnell, 2007). A studied showed that 1/3 of mothers claimed they did not vaccinate their children, because they were not aware of the benefits and 30% of mothers claimed they did not know where to vaccinate their children (O’Donnell, 2007). Most families can accept vaccines when they are presented to them, but take no action in using them. However, the relationship between vaccines and health is low, because populations have not developed trust in the provider due to the poor quality of services (O’Donnell,
One of the most common illnesses is influenza. It is a contagious viral infection that usually affects the respiratory passages, causes severe symptoms, and can occur in an epidemic. An epidemic is the slow spread of an infectious disease to a large number of people in a population within a short period of time (Wikipedia). A pandemic is an epidemic outbreak of an infectious disease that can spread through populations and even worldwide. Since 1918, there have been four influenza pandemics. From 1918 to 1919, the Spanish flu (H1N1) spread worldwide and killed 50 million people and 670,000 people in the United States (Pandemic flu history). From 1957 to …show more content…
Many populations in developing countries live in poverty. As Shah mentioned in Health Care Around the World, “health gaps typically mirror equality gaps,” meaning that people living in poverty typically live in poor health while poor health makes it difficult to get out of poverty (Shah, 2011). In addition to poverty, some people might live in rural areas, where they have no accessibility to health care or services. Corruption in a country also contributes to the inability to access to healthcare. In many developing countries, the number of physicians and medical professionals that can attend patients is disproportionate with the population (Shah, 2011). Even with access to health care, the method of payment is usually out-of-pocket for the point of service. Either families do not receive the proper care because they cannot afford it or it pushes families into poverty because of medical expenses (Shah,2011). It is usually in wealthier countries, which have a universal health care system with affordable payments for patients (Shah, …show more content…
In some cases, this is due to culture issues, in which some families prefer traditional methods, because they are unaware of modern treatment. However, poor health in a population becomes a norm, and recognizing illnesses becomes difficult for health care demand (O’Donnell, 2007). For example, 2 in 5 children are not fully vaccinated in India, although immunization is free (O’Donnell, 2007). A studied showed that 1/3 of mothers claimed they did not vaccinate their children, because they were not aware of the benefits and 30% of mothers claimed they did not know where to vaccinate their children (O’Donnell, 2007). Most families can accept vaccines when they are presented to them, but take no action in using them. However, the relationship between vaccines and health is low, because populations have not developed trust in the provider due to the poor quality of services (O’Donnell,