Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Hans Rosling: 'Edutainer' par excellence

Hans Rosling, a Swedish physician became a pop-star statistician by converting dry numbers into dynamic graphics that challenged preconceptions about global health and gloomy prospects for population growth. He died on February 7^th at 68 of pancreatic cancer.

The topic of Global Health and Social Determinants of Health has interested us greatly.  It is covered in detail in Michael Marmot’s dense book, The Health Gap (that few will wade into).  Rosling’s work makes this information palatable and easily understandable.

See:  NY Times Obituary

Rosling, his wife and daughter founded Gapminder, an independent Swedish foundation with no political, religious or economic affiliations in 2007. Gapminder is a fact tank, not a think tank. It fights devastating misconceptions about global development.

See Hans Rosling:  How To Be Ignorant About the World (TED 2014) 19 minutes.

Many more instructive videos are linked on Gapfinder.org.

Social Determinants of Health

 Not everyone has a fair go at living a long, healthy and prosperous life

Inequities in wealth and income are one of the biggest social, economic and political challenges of our time. It’s important to address these inequities for three key reasons.

• Economic costs
• Social costs
• Health costs.

Understand and Address Health Inequalities (2 minutes)

Brief Introduction to the topic. (9 minutes)

Micheal Marmot TED Talk

If you want to delve further, go to The Boyer Lectures (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC, September 2016.  I found it easier to "Download" than to click on "Listen")

 

Great Divides

When the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, which passengers lived to see another day?

37% of all passengers survived.
61% of 1st passengers survived.
42% of 2nd passengers survived.
24% of 3rd passengers survived.

It’s like that on the United States Ship of Fools. Among other things, those traveling first class were closer to the life boats – and it’s the same wherever the rich are.

It has been known for decades that the rich live longer than the poor. Seminal studies done in the UK 40 or 50 years demonstrate that class is a major determinant of life expectancy. Here, in the United States, we have paid less attention to this. A recent article in the New York Times comparing the life spans of the rich and the poor addresses this vital and morbid subject.

Medical care plays only a small role in determining longevity. So much for all that screening that we as a population are subjected to. Smoking plays a role, but there are many poorly defined contributory factors. Income, education, class, race, postal code are all important and it is sad how early the lot is cast for those who have less.

The Times article is an opportunity to ruminate about this subject. I hope that a few of our readers who are involved in this field will comment and parse it for us.

Look at the graph below to start your thought process.

 

References:

1. A 25 year gap between the life expectancy of rich and poor Londoners is a further indictment of our unequal society. One of the greatest determinants of a person’s health is their income.   Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson. The Independent 15 January 2014

2. Disparity in Life Spans of the Rich and the Poor Is Growing by Sabrina Tavernise. NY Times, February 2016