Death rate an life expectancy

Death rate- number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year.

Lif expectancy- average number of years that a person can expect to live.

The death rate has declined since 1900- people are dying at an older age.

Which means an increase in life expectancy- people are living longer.

Average age a person can expect to live in Britain today is 79 for men and 83 for women.

Medical Advances

Advances in medicine such as antibiotics and surgery have contributed to the decline in the death rate and increased life expectancy.

Vaccination programmes led to a decline in infectious diseases, such as measles, which many people died from in the past.

Growing numbers of people now suffer from diseases of affluence (lifestyle disease):

• Type 2 diabetes- treated with medicine and diet changes to control blood sugar levels.

• Obese patients follow diet and exercise plans and undergo weight loss surgery.

Improved living standards and nutrition

Over the last 100 years, there's been a rapid decline in poverty.

Higher wages, better food, improved housing conditions have all assisted in improving the health and life expectancy of the population.

Better sanitation such as:

• clean drinking water
• flush toilets
• nutritious food

Reduces the risk of people catching infectious diseases

Public Health

NHS was founded in 1948, providing free healthcare for all.

When people fall ill, they are able to seek medical help free of charge.

NHS prescriptions make medication affordable for everyone and those facing economic hardship can get free prescriptions.

Public health screening programmes e.g. cancer have led to a reduction in people dying from cancer.

Improved maternity care

There is much better antenatal and postnatal care for mothers and babies.

More women have children in hospitals today.

Childbirth has become more safer for women.

There are health visisters to check on young babies.

This helps explain the decrease in the infant mortality rate.

This is why death rate is decreasing because it means more babies are surviving at birth and becoming healthier babies. So, it means the death rate is decreasing.

Evaluation (AO3)

• Death rates are not consistently low across the country:

There seems to be a health "postcode lottery".

As people living in deprived areas are more likely to die early compared to people living in richer areas. Moreover, the Covid-19 death rate is 'more than double' in more deprived areas.

• The past few years has seen a rise in death rates and fall in life expectancy:

Extra deaths are the result of austerity.

The NHS struggled to cope with budget cuts.

Higher numbers of elderly people are dying prematurely because of NHS cuts.