ghhs unit 1
UNIT ONE: HOW WE LIVE (AND DIE) AROUND THE WORLD
| UNIT 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES: – Define health - Describe the factors that influence whether someone is healthy or not – Explain some of the major differences and similarities between health in different areas of the world. – Locate online resources that you can use to help educate yourself and your colleagues about health around the world. |
Activity 1: What is Health?
Do you know what the definition of health is? Give it a try! Brainstorm as a group and see what you come up with. Then click on the image below and see how close you got! Discuss what the official definition means in terms of how we determine if someone is healthy and the services that need to be provided to promote health.
Activity 2: Determinants of Health
Your health is dependent on a lot more than the treatment you receive from your doctor. A complex system of factors impact your health ranging from the genes you inherit to the family, community, state and nation that you are born into. Determinants of heath are what we call the range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence someone’s health status. View the images below.
In each picture, all household members are together in their main living space with all their food for 1 week.
Discuss the questions posed below the image before moving on to the next picture.
Egypt. Peter Menzel, from the book, "The Hungry Planet: What the World Eats"
Discussion questions:
- Does this family have enough to eat?
- What is good or bad with the diet? Is it diversified? Too much or too little of something?
- Based on this diet, what diseases might the family be at risk for?
- What about the housing? Is it permanent? Does it provide good protection from the elements? Do you think there is heating or air conditioning?
- Where does the family go to the bathroom? Is there running water?
- Based on housing and water access what diseases might the family be at risk for?
- Look at the family structure – are they secure? Refugees? Single mother? Minority?
- Based on the (guessed) family experience, what health problems are the family members at risk of?
- Based on the answers to the questions above, do you think the members of this family die young or old (in other words, what is their life expectancy)? What condition or disease do you think they are most likely to die from?
- What would you do as a health professional to help improve the health of this family? For example, would you implement a vaccine program? A physical activity intervention? Cancer screenings? Mental health services?
See more evidence that families around the world are more alike than they are different! Check out the Dollar Street to see and manipulate images of families organized by income level all over the world or just in the US!
Activity 3: Life Expectancy and Wealth
Do you know who lives the longest in the world? Check out the map below. Every dot represents a country the color represents the region and the size of the dot represents the size of the countries population. Can you guys tell which color represents which region? Can you guess which country is which? Who is the richest? Who lives the longest? Where is the US? According to this graph would you say that wealth and health are related?
Graph generated by GapminderCheck your answers and explore other great data visualizations of the determinants of health HERE!
Activity 3: Are you Smarter than a Chimp?
Watch Hans and Ola Rosling’s lecture on ignorance and then prepare and administer a quiz at your school to see if your classmates can beat the chimpanzee or if they too are under the influence of cultural bias and misperceptions!
Activity 4: What are young people dying from?
What illnesses are you at risk for? What do you think is the most prevalent health risk for kids at your school? Check out the global data below and compare how the population at your school compares.
