miércoles, 4 de febrero de 2009

Basic Concepts in Health and Poverty (Week 1)

Health
Merriam-Webster:
“The condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; specially freedom from physical disease or pain”
World Health Organization
“A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
(International Health Conference, New York, 1946)

WHO uses the psycho-bio-social model: Venn Diagram of Health

An example of psycho-bio-social elements impacting health
Malaria
–Biological
Presence of mosquito / parasite
Person’s natural or acquired immunity
Body response to infection
–Social
Type of housing
Availability of Health services
General sanitation in community
–Psychological
Response by patient to disease

Poverty
“The state of having little or no money and few material posessions”
The Princeton Dictionary
“In the US, the state of living in a family with income below the federally defined poverty line”
US Dept. of Economy
“A condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, education, and information”
Copenhagen Declaration, UN Summit on Social Development
“Poverty is set at an income level of US $ 2 or less ($2.15 for 2007), and extreme poverty at an income level of $1 or less ($1.08 for 2007)
World Bank

“For the past 8 years, we have become poorer. During the rainy season we suffer since we can only afford very little. We need many things, food above all. We do not own a place to live and can not afford to pay rent…”
A Maya K'akchiquel field hand (1994)

Official Poverty Line in Guatemala
INE – Instituto Nacional de Estadistica
–Poor: Q 6,754 / person / year
–Extremely Poor: Q 3,206 / person / year
51% of Guatemalans are poor
15.2% are extremely poor
Indigenous are 75% poor, and 27.4% extremely poor
Non-indigenous are 36.5% poor, and 7.8% extremely poor

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