1. Health
& Medicine

2. The Black Death Bacillus infected lymph nodes
1347 the black plague swept through Europe
Killed 1/3 of Europe’s population in 2 years

3. Spread from fleas to rats to people Spread Quickly
Close unsanitary living conditions
People did not bath regularly
The dead were left unburied

4. Two Groups Successfully Avoided the Plague
Jews
Washed hands before they ate
Bathed once a week
Conducted burials soon after death
Wealthy
- Fled to the remote country

5. Health risks are always unevenly distributed
Some groups are more likely to get sick or die than others
- Health is not just a medical question but also a social issue.

6. Health Problems Change
Over Time

7. Sanitation & Hygiene

8. Super drugs Cured many of the infectious diseases of the past.
New problems from overuse.
Resistant microbes

9. Life expectancy Life expectancy in U.S. About 47 About 79
born in 1900
About 79
Born in 2010
Degenerative conditions
Acute diseases replaced by chronic

10. The Social Causes of Illness and Death

11. Human-Environmental Factors
The environment humans create can pose health risks.
Cancer Alley
100 oil refineries btw. Baton Rouge & New Orleans
Erin Brokovitch
Food deserts

12. Lifestyle factors Smoking Alcohol Drugs Stress Levels Social Isolation
Exercise
Diet
Diseases of Affluence
The Politics of Food
Food subsidies
Healthy options

13. Factors related to the public health and health care systems
Clean water
Effective sewage system
Vaccinations

14. Health Care System
We spend more than twice as much per person on health care than the average of other industrialized countries
Longer life expectancies?
Are we asking the right questions?