Understanding Populations

Question 1

What are the 3 different definitions of a population?

Answer 1

the whole number of people or inhabitants of a region or country

the total of individuals occupying an area or making up a whole

a body or individuals having a quality or characteristic in common

Question 2

What 3 questions should be asked when deciding on a population?

Answer 2

1. Who should be included?
2. Where does the population of interest reside?
3. When is the population of interest to be considered?

Question 3

What are the 3 main drivers of population change?

Answer 3

1. natural change
2. direct contribution from migration
3. indirect contribution from migration

Question 4

What is meant by ‘natural change’ as a driver of population change?

Answer 4

natural change = births - deaths

populations grow when births are more numerous than deaths

Question 5

What is meant by direct contribution from migration as a driver of population change?

Answer 5

direct contribution = immigration - emigration

populations grow when more people are coming into the country than are leaving

Question 6

What is meant by indirect contribution from migration as a driver of population change?

Answer 6

changes in fertility and mortality

this consequently affects the natural change within the population

Question 7

How can life expectancy drive population change?

Answer 7

increases in life expectancy lead to populations ageing on average

Question 8

What do population pyramids show?

Answer 8

they are used to summarise age and gender information of a population

Question 9

What would looking at life expectancy on a population pyramid show you?

Answer 9

looking at life expectancy over time allows you to see how it is influenced by societal change

e.g. economic status

Question 10

How does societal change affect men and women?

Answer 10

there are gendered differences in health behaviours and men and women respond differently to societal change

Question 11

What are common examples of gendered differences in health behaviour?

Answer 11

1. men are 2 x more likely to drink to hazardous levels and use illicit substances
2. women have higher levels of poor mental health
3. women are more likely to self harm

Question 12

How is the age structure of the UK population changing?

Answer 12

the population is both growing and ageing

the proportion of people who are elderly increases

Question 13

What are the main consequences of an ageing population?

Answer 13

1. increase in ill-health and disability
2. increase in multi-morbidity and polypharmacy
3. fewer working age individuals for every elderly person
4. shift of social care from formal to informal settings

Question 14

How are populations defined?

Answer 14

populations are defined by person, place and time

Question 15

How does the increasing diversity of the UK population cause change?

Answer 15

some ethnic minorities have a higher birth rate

they may have different birth weights, birth mortality, rates of self harm etc.

there is a lot of variety between ethnic groups

Question 16

In general what patterns tend to be seen in the diversity of London?

Answer 16

On the whole, London is very diverse

On a local level, there is more segregation present

In areas where population density is high for one ethnic minority, it will be low for other ethnic groups

Question 17

How does deprivation affect life expectancy?

Answer 17

In more deprived areas, there is greater infant mortality and a reduced life expectancy

More deprived areas tend to be more polluted

Question 18

What are the 2 main areas which influence the socioeconomic gradient in health?

Answer 18

Health behaviours:

• includes smoking, eating healthily, inactivity and obesity
• these are more prevalent in more deprived areas

Health beliefs and attitiudes:

• in more deprived areas, the attitude to health is poorer