Improvement of the Life Expectancy - Essay Example

Section/# Life Expectancy: A Review and Analysis of the Disparity Between Developed and Developing Nations It is without question that health around the globe is something that is not exhibited universally. In tandem with this understanding, the relevant realization that is represented has to do with the fact that since global health is not universally represented; as overall life expectancy denotes a similar trend. With even a cursory level of understanding, the analyst can indicate that individuals within wealthier/developed nations will have a vastly more positive outlook on overall health, during the course of their lifetime, as compared to those that grow up and live within less developed nations. As a function of understanding why this is the case, the following paper will address this disparity and provide several illustrations for why this disparity is continually represented. Through such a level of discussion and analysis, it is the hope of this student that the reader will be able to gain a more informed understanding with regard to what changes should be made in order for the deficiencies in global health and life expectancy to be ameliorated. One of the first and most obvious reasons for the drastic increase in life expectancy that first world nations (developed nations) have been able to experience over the past several decades relates to the decrease in infant mortality that was evidenced during so much of human history (Kenichi et al., 2014). As medical science came to understand the way that complications and threats that exist for the very young could be reduced, , the means by which unique treatments could be directed towards the mothers and their newborns improved the life expectancy for both. Likewise, the process of having a doctor or midwife available, and/or the possibility to have medical facilities within a relatively close proximity to population centres (Wilson, 2014). As compared to the developing world, this luxury is not something that is oftentimes possible. Due to the fact that a far larger number of individuals live within rural communities of the developing world, life expectancy is far lower; as these resources are not readily available and cannot be counted on when a mother goes into delivery. Thus, making due with the deficient structure of healthcare provision relating to pre and post natal care is one of the primary issues that helps to define a different between the way in which life expectancy is exhibited within developed nations such as the United Kingdom and Japan as compared to lesser developed nations. Changes in understanding disease and treating illness are also one of the main ways by which the healthcare system in developed nations has been able to improve overall life expectancy. For instance, around the turn of the 20th century, little if any knowledge concerning medical intervention for a litany of diseases existed. However, as science progressed and treatments for a variety of cancers, such as chemotherapy and radiation, came to be developed, the prognosis for individuals that were impacted by such disease went from terminal to treatable. A key illustration of this is with regard to the way that sophisticated healthcare systems in many developed nations exhibits an approach that provides different treatments based upon the individual needs of the patient and key indicators that can be leveraged as a means of more effectively addressing relevant issues and targeting treatments to the needs of the patient. Moreover, the growth and development of pharmacology cannot be underestimated as a powerful mechanism that has helped to reduce the overall mortality rate for a number of diseases. For instance, statistics from the early 20th century indicate that even developed nations within Europe and Asia suffered a high ratio of death from preventable disease (Satoshi, 2014). Drugs such as quinine and penicillin, which gave rise to an entire sub category of anti-biotic drugs, created the means by which the healthcare profession could treat disease and the difficulties associated with infection. Yet, pharmacology alone is not responsible for the success in lowering the mortality rate within developed nations; as many of the same pharmaceuticals employed within developed nations are employed within under-developed nations. Instead, the creation of an infrastructure of health care can be said to be one of the most powerful dynamics which has allowed for developed nations to experience a growth in overall life expectancy. When one compares the health and lifestyle of many developed nations as compared to less developed nations, it comes to be patently clear that the developed nations oftentimes have lower levels of health and inferior levels of exercise as compared to the individuals measured within the lesser developed countries. Yet, what makes the difference in creating higher levels of life expectancy within certain countries as compared to others is not necessarily climate, the existence of disease, or even nutrition; instead, is it the fact that a culture of advanced health research and systems have been developed in many developed countries over the past several decades; allowing them to have a body of knowledge, expert specialists, effective equipment, and cutting edge technology that allows for an increased chance of a satisfactory outcome for the patients that come in contact with healthcare during the course of their lives. Another relevant factor that cannot be ignored has to do with the fact that almost each and every developed nation now employs a level of universal healthcare coverage for its citizens (Kyunghee et al., 2014). By taking some of the profit out of healthcare, this does not become a service that is solely available to the upper class; or moneyed elite. As compared to lesser developed nations, almost every European country has a socialist system of medicine that ensures that each and every societal stakeholder will have the same level of access to health treatment as compared to anyone else. When measured against many of the developing nations around the world, this is sadly not yet the case. Yet, before one incorrectly concludes that the reason that increased life expectancy within developed nations far outpaces the overall life expectancy in other nations is contingent on pharmacology and/or health technology/or governance alone, it should also be understood that the overall level of health that is experienced within many developed nations has a lot to do with the investment that these nations have directed towards their infrastructure (Charati et al., 2014). For instance, each and every year, nations such as the United Kingdom or Japan devote the equivalent of billions of dollars annually to the maintenance and further development of infrastructure that can continue to provide clean and fresh drinking water to their millions of inhabitants. Naturally, the issue that can be expected from all of this is contingent upon the fact that lesser developed nations do not have the available funding to engage in costly and multi-year projects that are focused on fundamentally shifting the way in which the healthcare system works, changing norms of government, or providing for billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades. Sadly, as these resources are not available to developing nations, the overall extent to which they can leverage change with regard to life expectancy is rather limited. Whereas it is true that organizations such as the Red Cross, the WHO, Medicins sans Frontiers, and others make a profound impact with regard to life expectancy and rates of overall health within developing nations around the globe, the issues that have thus far been defined as the causal factors for why developed nations experience such a profoundly higher life expectancy as compared to developing nations are not those that can be addressed via the simple application of a relatively small amount of foreign indirect aid. References Charati, J., Khaksar, S., Khosravi, F., & Zoleikani, L. (2014). Changes in Life Expectancy Journal Of Medical Sciences (JMS), 24(111), 85-88. Kenichi, M., Mari, K., Kyoko, A., Mitsue, M., Hiroshi, I., & Satoshi, Y. (2014). Life Expectancy: A Retrospective Analysis. BMC Neurology, 14(1), 1-16. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-14-83 Satoshi, Y. (2014). Current and Past Life Expectancy: A Discussion of Past Change and Future Relevance. Journal of Medical Science, 14(1), 1-16. doi:10.1186/1471-2377-14-83 Kyunghee, J., Young-Ho, K., Hong-Jun, C., & Sung-Cheol, Y. (2014). Decomposition of life expectancy by age and causes of death over the past 100 years. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 1934-1950. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-560 Wilson, T. (2014). New Population and Life Expectancy Estimates. Plos ONE, 9(5), 1-12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0097576 Read More