MIH512-Demography and Health (Module 3-CBT) Essay

MIH512-Demography and Health (Module 3-CBT) - Essay Example Another surprise the effect Asian style government family planning, specifically in China, will have on the age of the population. China is rapidly aging because so few children are being born. Another surprise is the gender imbalance. In nations where one-child policies are in place and there is a cultural preference for boys, the abortion of girl fetuses or infanticide of female children has led to a great disparity between the numbers of men and women. Added to this surprise is the fact that the disparity among the educated and affluent in these countries is greater than that of poorer families that one would think would hold to a more traditional view of family. Mortality holds the second surprise for Eberstadt. Traditional thinking leads us to believe that increases in medical technology, advanced medicines and education on nutrition will lead to an ever-increasing life expectancy. In Japan, each new birth cohort can expect to live longer than the one before it. In many places this is not true. In sub-Sahara Africa, the culprit is HIV-AIDS. But in places like Russia, the culprit is less exotic. Two-thirds of men in Russia are intoxicated when they die. Alcohol abuse alone seems to be accounting for Russia dwindling life expectancy among men. The final surprise is the anomaly of America. America does not seem to be trending in any of the ways other nations are. America is surprisingly, evening out among age’s ranges. While places such as Russia and Europe will decrease in population and in world rankings, America will be holding its own if current trends continue. The health care system in my home country of the United States will need to adapt to the changing demographics by learning how to deal with continued influxes of immigrants. The pictures painted by these surprises leads to the conclusion that places such a Russia and China could become