Examine the reasons for, and the consequences of, the fall in the death rate since 1900 (24 marks) In the UK, the overall number of deaths has stayed fairly stable since 1900. However there has been some fluctuations, for example the number of deaths increased during the world wars. However, ignoring the two major increases, the death rate has fallen since 1900. Firstly, according to Thomas Mckeown (1972), improved nutrition is a main reason for the fall in the death rate. He argues that better nutrition increases resistance to infection and increases the survival chances of those who did get infected.
There have been many changes in the death and birth rate for many different reasons which have caused these rates to both increase and decrease throughout the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. In general the trend for birth rates since 1900 is that it has dropped from around 1.1 million to about 0.7 million in 2001. Deaths have generally stayed the same at around 0.6 million wavering back and forth. Fertility rates have also changed from 115 live births per 1000 women aged between 15 and 44 in 1900 to only 54.5 in 2001. Life expectancy in 1900 was only around 47 for men and 50 for women whereas it now in 2013 83 for men and 87 for women.
This is proven since in 1900 the IMR in the UK was 154 and by 2007 it had sharply declined to 5, owing to many factors including improved housing and better sanitation. So infant mortality rates decreasing has caused birth rate to decrease and therefore also decreasing family size. A final reason is the idea that children have become an economic liability. This is due to two many reasons, the first being laws
Examine the reasons for changes in birth rates and family size since 1900 Sociologists use the concept of birth rate to measure births. The birth rate is defined as the number of live births per 1000 of the population per year. There has been a long-term decline in the number of births since 1900. In that year, England and Wales had a birth rate of 28.7, but by 2007 it had fallen to an estimated 10.7. However there have been changes in births, with three 'baby dooms' in the 20th century.
Thirdly there would be a greater demand for doctors creating more jobs. A con to universal health care is that there is less competition because all the medical staff are paid a government salary. This is invalid though because the doctors will always be doing their jobs. Another con is raised taxes. This is also invalid because it is better to pay taxes rather than over priced medical bills.
The increase in divorce has led to more reconstituted families, singlehood and single parenthood, therefore the family size has generally decreased apart from in cases where reconstituted families have been formed. This increase in divorce is due to many factors, one of which is the changes in legislation over the past 100 years. Since 1912 (100 years ago) there has been 5 changes in legislation, these were in 1949, 1950, 1971, 1984 and 1996. The change that caused the greatest increase in divorce was the Divorce Reform Act in 1971. This emphasized the idea of a matrimonial offence, and avoided the need for a guilty party.
Throughout the eighteenth century, death rates were very high. Mortality rates were as high as 36 deaths per 1000 people in England. With improvements in quality of life and medicine, and decreases in infant mortality, the nineteenth century saw a decrease in the death rate. For instance, Denmark saw very low mortality rates of 13.2 per 1000 people. The worst mortality rates were in Spain and Russia.
This compelled the companies to offer health benefits, in order to win employees over. President Roosevelt asks Congress for an economic bill of rights, including the right to adequate medical care. Truman proposes at national health care plan but it is not even considered by Congress and the AMA. The 1950’s offered a private health insurance for those who could afford it, hospital costs doubled and medication to treat
Gradually, changes in the law had made divorce easier. The broadening of the grounds in 1971 to ‘irretrievable breakdown’ made divorce easier to obtain and produced a doubling of the divorce rate almost overnight. The introduction of legal aid for divorce cases in 1949 lowered the cost of divorcing which meant that divorce rates rose with each change in the law. However, although changes in the law have given people the freedom to divorce more easily, this does not in itself explain why more people should choose to take advantage of this freedom. To explain the rise in divorce rates we must therefore look at other changes too.
Davis wishes he lived in some other country where he could have better access to healthcare. If he lived in Great Britain he would not pay for his healthcare. While they work they pay higher taxes to cover the cost of healthcare, but his healthcare would not stop if he lost his job. There is more access to healthcare for children, unemployed, and retired persons regardless of their income. They receive no medical bills; therefore, there is no threat of bankruptcy due to a medical condition.