Health and Disease Flashcards

Health and Disease

Natural and Human-Induced Diseases

  • Natural Diseases:

    • COVID-19
    • Malaria
    • Lyme Disease

  • Human Induced Illness:

    • COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
    • Exposure to carcinogens
    • Parkinson's Disease

Medical Geography

  • Spatial Epidemiology:
    • Study of disease, human health, and the movement of diseases.
    • Emphasizes the relationship between disease and the surrounding environment, including:
    • Human and natural environments
    • Cultural influences
    • Impact of technology

Climate Change and Health

  • Water Scarcity: Areas like the Desert Southwest may face increasing water shortages.
  • Effects on Human Health:
    • Decrease in winter deaths in northern regions due to warming.
    • Increase in heat-related injuries and deaths in urbanized areas.
    • Possible spread of diseases like dengue fever and malaria due to increased mosquito breeding from warmer, humid conditions.
    • Expansion of dry areas causing famine and malnutrition.
    • Coastal regions facing land loss due to rising oceans.

Health Influenced by Various Factors

  • Stimuli affecting Health:
    • Chemical: Drugs, noxious gases.
    • Physical: Accidents, electrical shocks.
    • Infectious: Microbes, viruses.
    • Psychosocial: Social pressures.

Population Characteristics

  • Influences on health outcomes include:
    • Age groups
    • Gender
    • Genetic characteristics (e.g., East Asians metabolizing alcohol differently)
    • Sickle Cell Anemia carriers having more resistance to malaria

Human Ecology

  • Factors affecting overall health:
    • Diet
    • Sleep
    • Exercise
    • Medications
    • Personal hygiene

Environment and Behavior

  • Habitat Types:
    • Natural and built environments.
  • Cultural influences on behavior can affect health:
    • Access to healthcare resources
    • Cultural beliefs regarding health issues (e.g., sex education)

Disease Terminology

  • Endemic:
    • A disease always present in a population (e.g., Arthritis).
  • Epidemic:
    • Exceeding expected case numbers in a population (e.g., flu, AIDS).
  • Pandemic:
    • An epidemic that spreads over a large area (e.g., COVID-19).

Disease Agents

  • Agent: Organism that causes disease (e.g., bacteria, viruses).
  • Host: The organism affected by the disease.
  • Vector: Means by which an agent is transmitted to a host (e.g., mosquitoes). Actions such as removing mosquito habitats can reduce diseases like malaria.

Historical Insight: John Snow and Cholera

  • Cholera Outbreak in 1854:
    • John Snow mapped cholera cases to identify a contaminated well as the outbreak source, challenging contemporary beliefs about disease transmission.

HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Leading cause of death in Africa, with significant prevalence in central and southern regions.
  • Infection rates exceed 20% in countries like Lesotho and Botswana.
  • High economic and health-related impacts due to young adult death rates and increased prevalence of other infections like pneumonia and TB.

Notable Infectious Diseases

  • Malaria:
    • Affects about 40% of the global population.
    • Vaccine development efforts hindered due to funding and logistic challenges.
    • Major economic impacts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Tuberculosis (TB):
    • Highly contagious respiratory disease caused by bacteria.
    • Varying vaccination recommendations based on infection rates.
  • Yellow Fever:
    • Virus transmitted by mosquitoes; vaccination rates significantly affect prevalence.

Global Health Challenges

  • Issues such as diarrhea, influenza, and pandemic risks pose serious health threats.
  • Historical context: The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic had widespread impacts in the U.S., highlighting the rapid spread of infectious diseases.

Health Inequities and Sanitation

  • Access to proper sanitation and safe drinking water remains a critical global health issue.
  • Without proper sanitation, vulnerable groups in populations face greater health risks.

Geographic Disparities in Healthcare Access

  • Patterns of healthcare access and delivery are influenced by:
    • Functional factors (resources, hospitals)
    • Geographical factors (distance to care)
    • Social and financial factors affecting the quality and access to healthcare.

Economic Expenditure on Health

  • Health spending varies dramatically across countries (e.g., U.S. vs. Democratic Republic of the Congo); can affect healthcare quality and accessibility.
  • In the U.S., average health expenditure was $7,285 per person in 2007.

Conclusion

  • Understanding the interplay of these factors is crucial for addressing health and disease on a global scale.