5 health indicators and analysis - Research Paper

5 health indicators and analysis - - Research Paper Example Five health indicators from three different countries will be analyzed to reveal three-income stratifications high, medium, and low income. The five health indicators are the following; death rate, Infant mortality rate, Life expectancy at birth years, literacy and HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate. The countries are Switzerland, Mexico, and Somalia, which were selected to illustrate the disparity existing because of their income status. Death rate can be describe as the average number of deaths in a year per 1000 population and indicates the current mortality impact on population growth. Per Index Mundi, the death rate in Mexico is 4.9/1000 population at midyear, followed by Switzerland at 8.8, and Somalia at 14.55 (Index Mundi, 2011). The most probable causes of this 14.55 high incidence of death in Somalia can be attributed to lack of sanitation, poor access to medical services, and poor diet. On the other hand, the low death rate seen in Mexico can be associated with proper sanitation, easy access to advance medical care, and healthy feeding habits. The lowest infant mortality rate of the three countries stands at 4.03/1000 births followed by Mexico’s 16.77, and the highest being Somalias 103.72 (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d b). The comparison of the infancy mortality rate between the three countries raises concern, as the number of fatalities among infants in Somalia is alarming. This demonstrates the need for Mexico and Somalia to invest in more in infant and maternal health, and run programs such as vaccination to aid in reducing infant mortality. The average years lived by a group of individuals born in the same year describes the life expectancy at birth, in which Switzerland’s is relatively high. Since Switzerland is considered a higher income country, they can invest more preventive on health care and health education, which improves the life expectancy of the