This discussion will cover the demographic trends that impact global health today, look at patterns of health and disease that impact global health, explain the difference between primary health care and primary care, and review the World Health Organizations (WHO) priority for global health. There are many factors that affect global health including population, environment, and disease.
One of the greatest pressures on the global community is the growing population. This demographic trend has a great impact on global health. The global population was 2.8 billion in 1955 and is 5.8 billion now. It will increase to about 8 billion by the year 2025. Average life expectancy at birth in 1955 was just 48 years; in 1995 it was 65 years; in 2025 it will reach 73 years (World Health Organization [WHO], 2012). The increasing population means more people living in urban areas; therefore the closer we live together the increased chance of disease and illness. The added people also puts an increased stress on the environment leading to air pollution, water contamination, and less land to depend on for food. The growing numbers presents a threat to health and the economy of many nations. In developing counties, malnutrition and disease are problematic; whereas in developed countries overcrowding leads to pollution, disease, and violence. With increasingly dense living arrangements and global travel, the health of the general populations is threatened by environmental factors and disease, for example, the H1N1 influenza pandemic (Nies & McEwen, 2011, p. 270).
Mortality rate, based on disease patterns, vary throughout the world. The biggest difference depends on if it is in a developed country or a developing country. Of 57 million deaths worldwide in one year, 33 million are from noncommunicable disease, 18 million are from communicable diseases, and 5 million are from injuries and violence (Nies &