Health Problems Then and Now - Assignment Example

Health Problems Then and Now Alexander Heatrice DDS A.T Still HMP856 Based Healthcare Shannon Wills Ph.D. March 18, Health ProblemsThen and Now Most of the diseases prevalent during the 19th century were infectious diseases associated with poor hygiene and sanitation, poor nutrition, and poor maternal and infant health (Schlipkoter & Flahault, 2010). Diseases like chicken pox, diphtheria, measles, mumps, scarlet fever, whopping cough and poliomyelitis were prevalent among the children during this period (Schlipkoter & Flahault, 2010).

One of the most dreaded diseases during the 19th century was cholera (Schlipkoter & Flahault, 2010). Diseases like typhus, typhoid, cholera, and influenza were endemic during this time and were primarily associated with poverty, poor housing and unhealthy sanitary conditions. Tuberculosis was one of the most common causes of death and small pox was one of the most contagious and feared diseases of this century. Maternal and infant mortality rates were extremely high during the early and mid 19th century (Hani, 2010).

It was later detected that most of these deaths were caused by puerperal fever, an infection that spread because doctors did not wash their hands after conducting autopsies and then directly attended women in labor (Hani, 2010). The 20th century witnessed improvements in public health, disease control, sanitation, immunization, better maternal and child health, implementation of health education programs, and healthier lifestyles. All of these factors increased life expectancy by almost 30 years (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.).

However, as the incidence of infectious diseases decreased, the rates of chronic diseases began to increase. AIDS was a new viral disease that was identified during this time and which became a pandemic and killed millions of people throughout the world (WHO, n.d.). Diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease began to increase. Influenza pandemics killed nearly 100 million people during the 20th century (Aimone, 2010). As technological advancement led to sedentary lifestyles, health issues like obesity began to rise - first in developed countries and later in the developing nations.

Over the years there has been a marked increase in the rates of anxiety, depression and stress among people around the world. Therefore, the next decade will see higher rates of stress, hypertension, depression, anxiety, panic disorders and insomnia. There has also been an increase in the rates of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse. Another aspect of the 21st century is a primarily sedentary lifestyle, poor eating habits and lack of exercise as people depend more on machines and technology to perform work that used to be manual.

The effects of this lifestyle can already be seen with increasing rates of obesity and high cholesterol. There has also been an increase in cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, high blood pressure and insomnia (Freudenberg & Olden, 2011). The next decade will therefore see higher rates of these lifestyle diseases. Most of these diseases can be affected by health education and health promotion. Lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary heart diseases and cancer can be reduced by creating awareness and educating the public about the importance of healthy diet and exercise.

Several types of cancers have been found to occur as a result of stress (Moisse, 2010). Therefore, educating the public about stress reliving techniques can help to reduce the overall rates of these cancers. Although several diseases like diabetes and heart diseases have a genetic component; screening and testing can help detect these diseases earlier. References Aimone, F. (2010). The 1918 influenza epidemic in New York City: A review of the public health response. Public Health Report, 125(3), 71-79. Hani. (2010).

Semmelweis’ germ theory. Experiment Resources. Retrieved from http://www.experiment-resources.com/semmelweis-germ-theory.html Freudenberg, N. & Olden, K. (2011). Preventing chronic disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2011/jul/pdf/10_0243.pdf Moisse, K. (2010). Does stress feed cancer? Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=does-stress-feed-cancer Schlipkoter, U. & Flahault, A. (2010). Communicable diseases: Achievements and challenges for public health.

Public Health Reviews, 32 (1), 90-119. World Health Organization. (n.d.). 50 Facts: Global health situation and trends 1955 -2025. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/whr/1998/media_centre/50facts/en/