Introduction to Global Health – Kathryn H. Jacobsen
1 Global Health and Health Transitions
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity. Medicine is about health of individuals and clinical health practitioners are
instrumental in helping individuals and families reach and maintain health by providing preventive,
diagnostic and therapeutic services. Individual health is often result of socioeconomic, environmental
and other factors, so medicine itself is a limited approach to health. Public health focuses on the
health of populations small villages or entire world regions. The public health system works to
keep individuals safe and healthy. Preventing illness, injuries and deaths at population level.
Both medicine and public health make important contributions to global health, but public health
plays an important role because of its population focus.
Global health refers to health concerns that cross national borders. International health is used as a
term to describe the focus on the health issues of people who live in lower-income countries. Global
health has expanded recently as modernization and globalization have occurred. Modern
transportation allows infectious diseases to spread across the world at an alarming rate. New
medical technologies are able to cure diseases that were never treatable, but also create superbugs
which are resistant to antibiotics. Global health helps communities, nations and the world prepare to
respond appropriately to emergent health concerns.
In the 20th century most high-income countries made a transition to a lower birth rate, a lower death
rate, longer life expectancies and a higher burden from the chronic diseases, often associated with
overnutrition. Low-income countries have not experience such dramatic changes, but the health
profiles of the middle-income areas are currently shifting. Health transitions are separable in three
regions:
- Demographic transitions
- Epidemiologic transitions
- Nutrition transitions
Low-income Areas Middle-income Areas High-income Areas
Demographic transition Fertility rate ↑ Fertility rate ± Fertility rate ↓
Child mortality rate ↑ Child mortality rate↓ Child mortality rate↓
Mortality rate ↑ Mortality rate ± Mortality rate ↓
Life expectancy ↓ Life expectancy ↓ Life expectancy ↑
Epidemiologic Poverty and infectious Infectious and chronic Chronic diseases
transition / burden of diseases diseases (dual burden of
disease disease)
Nutrition transition Underweight Underweight in some Obesity
populations and obesity
in others
1 Global Health and Health Transitions
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity. Medicine is about health of individuals and clinical health practitioners are
instrumental in helping individuals and families reach and maintain health by providing preventive,
diagnostic and therapeutic services. Individual health is often result of socioeconomic, environmental
and other factors, so medicine itself is a limited approach to health. Public health focuses on the
health of populations small villages or entire world regions. The public health system works to
keep individuals safe and healthy. Preventing illness, injuries and deaths at population level.
Both medicine and public health make important contributions to global health, but public health
plays an important role because of its population focus.
Global health refers to health concerns that cross national borders. International health is used as a
term to describe the focus on the health issues of people who live in lower-income countries. Global
health has expanded recently as modernization and globalization have occurred. Modern
transportation allows infectious diseases to spread across the world at an alarming rate. New
medical technologies are able to cure diseases that were never treatable, but also create superbugs
which are resistant to antibiotics. Global health helps communities, nations and the world prepare to
respond appropriately to emergent health concerns.
In the 20th century most high-income countries made a transition to a lower birth rate, a lower death
rate, longer life expectancies and a higher burden from the chronic diseases, often associated with
overnutrition. Low-income countries have not experience such dramatic changes, but the health
profiles of the middle-income areas are currently shifting. Health transitions are separable in three
regions:
- Demographic transitions
- Epidemiologic transitions
- Nutrition transitions
Low-income Areas Middle-income Areas High-income Areas
Demographic transition Fertility rate ↑ Fertility rate ± Fertility rate ↓
Child mortality rate ↑ Child mortality rate↓ Child mortality rate↓
Mortality rate ↑ Mortality rate ± Mortality rate ↓
Life expectancy ↓ Life expectancy ↓ Life expectancy ↑
Epidemiologic Poverty and infectious Infectious and chronic Chronic diseases
transition / burden of diseases diseases (dual burden of
disease disease)
Nutrition transition Underweight Underweight in some Obesity
populations and obesity
in others
