What is human well-being?
Human well-being refers to people’s quality of life and their happiness. It is the recognition that everyone regardless of race, age, gender, where you live, etc. aspires to live well. Unfortunately, the global distribution of human well-being is unequal. Human well-being is measured using the HDI index (human development index). This was created by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Many factors impact an individual’s ability to live well, including war, conflict, social implications, housing, and financial state.
Human well-being also has differences between countries, including:
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
Political instability, biophysical environment, rainfall, access to public services, corrupt governments, and more.
The 13 key dimensions of human well-being are:
- Health
- Income
- Life expectancy
- Literacy rates
- Education
- Infant mortality rate (IMR)
- Women’s participation in public life
- Political voice and governance
- Security (economic and physical)
- Personal activities including work (work-life balance)
- Social connections and relationships
- Environment
- Material living standards
How and why does well-being differ from one person to another?
Wellbeing differs from one person to another as everyone is different and unique and everyone has different morals and qualities of living.
This can all depend on your geography (where you live), material well-being, job security, climate & environment, etc. There are 2 types of countries in the world. There are developed countries and developing countries. A developed country is a country that is advanced and/or developed country with modernization, a good economy, and stabilized infrastructure. A few examples of developed countries are Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand etc. A developing country is a poor agricultural country seeking to become more modernized. Some of these countries include Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, etc. It can be harder to live in a developing country because of the issues that you face and this then impacts on your wellbeing as well.
What is the OCED Better Life Index?
The OCED Better Life Index is a set of 11 social indicators- housing, home, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance that is believed to measure the well-being of a country’s population.
What are the key dimensions according to the Better Life Index that contribute to well-being?
These are 11 factors that are believed to measure human well-being: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety & work-life balance.
Why is health an important factor in contributing to human well-being?
Good health is central to happiness and healthy well-being. Health is measured by life expectancy. As healthy populations live longer they are more likely to become more productive and save more. Many factors influence health status and well-being status. These can include social and economic environments, physical environments, and the individual's characteristics and behaviors.
Access to healthcare in Australia in comparison to Brazil:
In Australia, we have a healthcare system called Medicare. Medicare is a publicly funded health care insurance cover in Australia. Medicare and the public hospital system provide free or low-cost access for all Australians to most of these healthcare services. In the unlikely event of being admitted or taken in an ambulance to a hospital Medicare will cover for majority of the expenses. Medicare was established in 1965 to help maintain a healthy well-being society within Australia.
How to get your own Medicare card from 15 years old-
- Go online and complete the application form
- Birth certificate
- Current driver's license
- Current passport
There are also other ways to cover your health insurance and an example of one of these companies is Bupa. Bupa is a private health insurance coverage where you pay extra for a certain amount of hospital coverage, doctor visits, etc.
Australia spent $180.7 billion on health from 2016 to 2017—more than $7,400 per person. Although we are the biggest dry piece of land (desert) we have access to clean, filtered, and safe drinking water. This is because the government spends money to have systems in place like dams etc. Here are ways to remove sewage and keep sanitation in Australia:
- Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP)
- Sewage Treatment Plants (STP)
- Common and Combined Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP)
- Activated Sludge Plant (ASP)
In 2017-18, the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey showed that two-thirds (67.0%) of Australian children were overweight or obese, an increase from 63.4% in 2014-15. There are no statistics that I could find for underweight children. This shows the wealth within our country. Australia has one of the lowest infant mortality rates (IMR) in the world. In 2018 the IMR for Australia was 3.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. An estimated 27,545 people were living with HIV in Australia in 2017 (the latest statistic).
Healthcare in Brazil is a constitutional right and is provided by private and government institutions. A study taken shows that the Brazilian government spends daily $0.92 per capita to cover health costs. Brazil has a total of 105 hospitals and 66%of them are private meaning only private patients can be seen to in those hospitals. The public system is provided through the national healthcare system known as the unified health system. In rural/poorer parts of Brazil the healthcare changes and becomes less efficient and at a slower rate as well. In urban areas there is 100% access to healthy, fresh, and clean drinking water however, in rural areas, there is only 53%. Sanitation, education, and income per capita are the most important explanatory factors in determining poor child health in Brazil. 85% of Brazil's population has access to sanitation. However, Brazil lacks sewerage infrastructures and this leads to diseases spreading around the country. In 2018 the statistic for people living with HIV was 900,000 people. Now that is a huge statistic. 84% of those people know about the disease and 13% do not. The infant mortality rate (IMR) in Brazil is 14 babies per 1,000 in comparison to Australia’s 3.1. 52.6% of men and 44.7% of women in Brazil are overweight. Although childhood obesity is associated with poor health outcomes, 70%–80% of obese adolescents become obese adults.
Australia is ranked #7 in the world according to HDI however Brazil is ranked #79. Indigenous Australians are more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to have respiratory diseases, mental health problems, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.
The Indigenous Australians' Health Programme- The objective of the IAHP is to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with access to effective high-quality comprehensive, culturally appropriate, primary healthcare services in urban, regional, rural, and remote locations across Australia. In 2017, there were 2,988 deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people this could be resulting in poor health care or exposure to diseases.
Stuck on your essay?
