370 Constant 



infant lives, but it does not stand first. 

 More improvement is needed. 



Health a social problem. The statement 

 that health is a social problem means that 

 no single individual is capable of main- 

 taining good health without the aid of 

 all other individuals. The organisms that 

 cause disease know of no community, 

 state, or national boundaries, especially 

 in these davs of rapid and extensive 

 travel. Thus health has become a national 

 and international problem. Every state 

 and all large cities have health organiza- 

 tions. The United States has a Public 

 Health Service and the United Nations 

 organization has the World Health Or- 

 ganization to serve as a center of infor- 

 mation on world medical development 

 and as a center for research. See Exer- 

 cise 3. 



There is another important way in 

 which health is a social problem. It has 

 long been known that poverty and bad 



Care Is Needed for Health unit vi 



health go together. The disease rate is 

 far higher among low income groups 

 than among high income groups. In 19:54 

 in 10 states, for the age group of 25-44, 

 the number of cases of illness per 1000 in 

 the various types of occupations v,as as 

 follows: 



Professionals 



Clerks 



Skilled workers 



Unskilled workers 

 It was believed by many people that 

 both the poverty and the bad health 

 were the result of bad heredity. But 

 studies made in the United States after 

 1929 showed that illness increased when- 

 ever income fell below a certain level. 

 In general, poor housing, poor food, in- 

 adequate clothing, and worry produced 

 illness. Evidently a long-range attack on 

 the social problem of poverty is neces- 

 sary before the problems of illness and 

 disease can be solved. 



28.6 

 67.6 

 69 



193-5 



Questions 



1. How has the average length of life changed in the last three hundred 

 years? In the last half century? State three factors that produced this 

 chanq^e. 



2. What are the three most frequent causes of death today? 



3. Why does the cancer rate seem to have risen in recent years? Why 

 do we hear so much more about cancer now than formerly? 



4. What is cancer? How does cancer differ from the less harmful types 

 of tumors? Is it communicable? Is it hereditary? 



5. What are some of the symptoms that may indicate the presence of 

 cancer? What are some of the factors that may cause cancer to de- 

 velop? 



6. What is a recent treatment for skin cancer? In what three other ways 

 is cancer treated? How may each one of us help in the \\ar against 

 cancer? 



7. In what two respects may the heart be deficient? 



8. What is the relative importance of accidents and disease as a cause 

 of death? State a half dozen or more important safet\' rules. 



