Epidemiological Transition Model

The epidemiological tranisition model is a model which is similar to the DTM but also takes into account a countries developments in all areas such as health care, education and nutrition. The tranisition model is split into three stages.
The Age of Pestilence and Famine: Where mortality is high and fluctuating, precluding sustained population growth, with low and variable life expectancy, vascillating between 20 and 40 years.

The Age of Receding Pandemics: Where mortality progressively declines, with the rate of decline accelerating as epidemic peaks decrease in frequency. Average life expectancy increases steadily from about 30 to 50 years. Population growth is sustained and begins to be exponential.

The Age of Degenerative and Man-Made Diseases: Mortality continues to decline and eventually approaches stability at a relatively low level. Life expectancy rises and exceeds 50 years, with fertility becoming the crucial factor in population growth

The epidemiological tranistion model shows what happens as a country makes its way from a third world country to an MEDC. It examines how countries go from having high birth rates and suffer from infectious disease's which are fatal due to poor sanitiation, lack of access to water and little or no knowledge of drugs and health alternatives. It shows a tranistion to richer countries where death and fertility rates are low, death from infectious disease is also low, but there is a much higher death rate from non infectious degenerative diseases. The ETM puts more emphasis on the health of a counrty as it shows how it progresses from poorer to richer and the diseases and health risks that are present.