Size

• According to a Harvard study released in September 2009, 45,000 Americans die each year due to a lack of health care coverage. Generally, these people are from poor socioeconomic backgrounds.
  
  

Significance

• A lack of understanding the best practices during childbirth can lead to increased mortality rates among women. For example, in India, one in 70 women of reproductive age dies during pregnancy, contributing to the high level of orphans in the country.
  
  

Effects

• Premature death is commonplace in the world's poorer neighborhoods, according to the BBC. This fosters a circumstance that favors transient populations, preventing long-term social growth.
  
  

Features

• When health policies negatively impact populations, general conditions are seen to suffer. The World Health Organization claims that poor health leads to increased incidence of violence, malnutrition, stress and environmental pollution.
  
  

Considerations

• Sir Michael Marmot, chairman of the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, states in a report that most countries use the concept of intervention rather than prevention as a means of medical care. This means that there is little information given to people on how to take care of themselves. In the long run, this creates more health problems.