UNIT 3: THE HEALTH SECTOR

CHAPTER 4: Population Demographics, Epidemiologic Transition and the Demand for Healthcare Goods and Services
The succeeding discussions will showcase how population demographics, epidemiologic transition and the changes in the demand for health goods and services affect the planning and implementation of health programs.

A. Development of Health Stocks: Organ Growth Curves

Organ systems develop at different paces and at different locations but maintain consistent patterns of maturity between the ages 18 to 20. General Type of Tissues

The musculo-skeletal and cardiovascular systems develop rapidly at two phases: from birth to 5 years of age and continues at ages 12 to 18 years. They reach maturation at ages 18 to 20 years. Example: Notable athletes such as Mike Tyson, whom became the worlds heavy weight champion, Carl Lewis, an Olympic track-and-field record holder, and Mark Spitz, a holder of multiple Olympic Gold medals, accomplished their achievements in the span of 20 years. Nervous (Neural) Type of Tissues

Neural Tissues develop rapidly from birth to the age of 2. Henceforth, developments slows down wherein nutrition comes as an important factor for proper myelination (development of myelin sheath which is crucial to nerve transmission). The nervous system fully develops at the age of 18.

Example: Bobby Fisher is a testimony to neural development, being an accomplished Chess player at the vicinity ages of 18 to 20 years. Chess is attributed to being the most mentally demanding game due to the levels of thought processes involved. Lymphoid Tissues

Lymphoid Tissues develop rapidly from birth to pre-adolescent age but undergoes regression at 12 years of age. It is considered fully developed at the ages of 18 to 20. Genital Type of Tissues

Genital tissues marginally develop from birth to about 12 years of age but rapidly develop at ages 12 to 14 years, reaching full maturity at ages 18 to 20 years. A female can bear a healthy child at ages 18 to 20 years, hence the origin of reaching the age of 18 years as a debutant tradition.

B. HEALTH RISKS
There are certain kinds of health risks at an early age like atherosclerosis in which fatty streaks are developed in the inner lining of the blood vessels. For adults, smoking, psychological stress and exposure to occupational health risks are observed during this stage. Based on the figure stated above, we are healthiest at these stages so that why the body is able to cope with it and therefore we do not necessarily get sick. However, these exposures to health risks accumulate over a certain period and their effects will be seen later.

Any health program planner should depend on the physiological and epidemiologic feature to arrive on a health program that is not only effective, but also efficient.

C. RELATIONSHIP CONCEPTS
1. At different ages, there are different probabilities of getting ill. REASONS: - Individuals have differences in health stocks which are, in turn, affected by different genetic endowments and exposures to different health risks. - Individuals have a high tendency of getting ill at the extreme of ages children( organ and immune system are not yet fully developed), and older people ( organ system starts to falter)

2. At different ages, individuals experience different types of illnesses. CHILDREN Acute illness - can be resolved within a few days or week ORGAN SYSTEM Respiratory System Gastro-Intestinal Tract ACUTE ILLNESS Bronchitis, Bronchopneumonia, Tonsilitis Viral and Bacterial Diarrheial Diseases Parasitism with Secondary Malnutrition Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections Abscesses, Furuncles, Scabies

Genito-Urinary/Reproductive Tract Skin and Soft Tissues

OLDER PEOPLE Chronic illness lasts for a long period of time or even for the rest of the persons life -signs and symptoms can be controlled but the disease itself does not resolve ORGAN SYSTEM Respiratory System Cardiovascular System Endocrine System ACUTE ILLNESS Lung Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Hypertension, Ischemic Heart Disease Diabetes Milletus

Genito-Urinary/Reproductive Tract Skin, Bones, and Joints

Tumors and Neoplasms, Hormonal disorders Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gouty Arthritis

3. At different ages, individuals demand different types of health goods and services. REASONS: Individuals suffer from different types of illnesses at different ages. Different diseases will necessitate the use of different types of health goods and commodities.

A five-year-old child will demand a totally different set of health goods and commodities compared to a 55-year-old adult.

Organ System Cardiovascular System Antibiotics

Children

Adults Anti-hypertensive, anti-anginal Anti-thrombotic agents, antihypertensive agents Anti-inflammatory drugs, Surgical procedures Surgery, hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptives

Nervous System

Antibiotics, vitamins and Nutritionals

Skin, Bones and Soft Tissues Genito-urinary and Reproductive System

Antibiotics Antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents

The magnitude of the demand (indirectly measured by the probabilities of illnesses) and the types of health goods and services demanded can be fairly predictable. All we need to do is to correlate these with the population composition of a country and we will be able to decide what goods to deliver.

Reference: Policarpio, J.D. (2006). Economics in Health: for the Allied Health Sciences. South Triangle, Quezon City: C&E Publishing Inc.

Population Demographics, Epidemiologic Transition and the Demand for Healthcare Goods and Services

Submitted by: Go, Harold Vincent Maderazo, Princess Aurea Mateo, Janine Mina, Cyra Kaye 2FMT