Epidemiological Transition in 1971

The world in a disjointed health transition Although there were dramatic changes in the pattern of health in the world today such as improved life expectancy, decreasing crude death rate, etc. albeit we cannot repudiate the fact that there is a diverse fragmentation in different countries, like the big disparity of health situation between Northern Europe and Sub-Saharan African countries, in which according to researchers is attributed to health transition theory. Health transition theory is a concept that describes the change in disease pattern that occurs during socio-economic development which is interlinked in two components; one is the demographic transition and second is disease transition.

HT means ‘the cultural, social and behavioral determinants of health’ which are factors aside from medical intervention and material standard of living, this term is more used as this is simpler than what Omran, A.R. in 1971 called as “epidemiologic transition” that said to be more leaning towards death rather than health, survival and continuous change. The focus of this paper is on describing the health transition theory with its causes and impact on the outlook of diseases, population structure and health care delivery. Socio-economic development is the key factor in HT as this translates to better health policies, robust public health system along with social norms and behavioral modifications. Many agreed that even when a country goes on economic recession, health improvement long stands any adversity due to health assets of professional and personal knowledge, skills and traditions that promotes health and favors the weak in times of distress as evidenced by Cuba and Sweden in 1990s which had an improved life expectancy and low child mortality rate even when Cuba had lost its trade conditions when the Soviet Union was dissolved and Sweden’s economic recession. Furthermore, HT is a continuous process no matter what level of affluence a certain country is, due to dynamic changes and challenges in health such as shift from issues of contagions to degenerative and lifestyle disease such as ischemia in post-industrial societies. Demographic Transition is the first component of HT, as described by Lindstrand as “a sequence of stable population, falling death rates, population growth, falling birth rates, and once more stable population”, furthermore, this sequence happens on dissimilar frequencies and stage in each nation which depends on socio-economic development.

There are 3 models described by Omran that differentiates health transition. First is the Classical or Western Model that ensued in Europe in more than 200-year period which saw a drop-in mortality rate after smallpox vaccine discovery, improved living conditions, sanitation, quality of food and availability of clean water which also led to decline in contagion due to better understanding of the sources, transmission, and prevention