| Course | PU335 Global Health |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Burden of disease comparison worksheet |
| Length | About 730 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PU335 Unit 3
Infections and Newborns on One Side, Strokes and Road Crashes on the Other: A Unit 3 Burden of Disease Comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
PU335: Global Health
Unit 3 Burden of Disease Comparison
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The analysis is the student's; the data sources and studies cited are real, and figures should be checked against the latest releases.
The Measures
Life expectancy at birth. How many years, on average, a baby born this year could expect to live if today's death rates held for its whole life. It summarizes mortality across all ages.
Under-five mortality. Deaths before age five per 1,000 live births, sensitive to infections, newborn care and nutrition.
Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The Global Burden of Disease study combines years of life lost to early death with years lived with disability into a single measure, so that conditions that disable as well as kill can be compared (Vos et al., 2020). Each DALY counts as one healthy year that a population did not get to live.
The Headline Figures
In 2023, life expectancy at birth was about 73.7 years in the Dominican Republic and about 64.9 years in Haiti, a gap of nearly nine years (World Bank, 2025a). Under-five mortality in the Dominican Republic was about 25 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 (World Bank, 2025b), and Haiti's rate has long been more than double the Dominican figure in the same data series.
Where the Burden Comes From
Haiti. A large share of Haiti's disease burden still comes from communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional conditions: complications of delivery and of the newborn period, diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia and HIV. These conditions strike young people, so they cost many years of life per death. Noncommunicable diseases, especially stroke and heart disease, are rising alongside them, creating a double burden.
Dominican Republic. The Dominican burden is dominated by noncommunicable diseases, ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, along with injuries. Road traffic injuries stand out: the World Health Organization has reported road traffic death rates in the Dominican Republic among the highest in the Americas (World Health Organization, 2018). Newborn conditions still contribute, but a smaller share.
Haiti loses its healthy years mostly to conditions of birth and childhood; the Dominican Republic loses more of them in middle age, on the road and to the heart.
Interpreting the Difference: The Epidemiologic Transition
Omran described the epidemiologic transition as a shift in a population's leading causes of death from infections and famine toward degenerative and human-made diseases as mortality falls and life expectancy rises (Omran, 2005). The Dominican Republic is further along this transition: infections and newborn deaths have fallen, so chronic diseases and injuries now dominate. Haiti is earlier in the transition and carries both burdens at once, the old infectious and maternal-newborn burden and a growing chronic disease burden, a pattern sometimes called the double burden.
The transition is not destiny. It reflects water and sanitation, maternal and newborn care, vaccination, nutrition and income, which differ sharply between the two countries for reasons the next units will examine.
Data Limits
Haiti's vital registration is incomplete, so many estimates for Haiti are modeled from surveys and similar countries, with wide uncertainty. Political crises and violence in recent years have disrupted data collection further. Dominican estimates are more complete but still modeled for some causes. National figures in both countries hide large differences by region and income, and migrants in the Dominican Republic may be undercounted.
What the Comparison Means for Priorities
Haiti. The largest gains in healthy years would come from newborn and maternal care, clean water and sanitation, treatment of childhood pneumonia and diarrhea and HIV services, while beginning to build primary care for blood pressure and diabetes.
Dominican Republic. The largest gains would come from controlling high blood pressure and diabetes, reducing road traffic deaths through enforcement and safer roads and continuing to improve newborn survival, especially in poorer provinces and among migrant communities.
Conclusion
The two countries on Hispaniola are at different points in the epidemiologic transition. Haiti's burden still centers on conditions of birth, childhood and infection, with chronic disease rising; the Dominican Republic's centers on chronic disease and injury. The nine-year gap in life expectancy reflects those patterns, and the priorities that would close it differ accordingly.
References
Omran, A. R. (2005). The epidemiologic transition: A theory of the epidemiology of population change. The Milbank Quarterly, 83(4), 731-757. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0009.2005.00398.x
Vos, T., Lim, S. S., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K. M., Abbasi, M., Abbasifard, M., Abbasi-Kangevari, M., Abbastabar, H., Abd-Allah, F., Abdelalim, A., Abdollahi, M., Abdollahpour, I., Abolhassani, H., Aboyans, V., Abrams, E. M., Abreu, L. G., Abrigo, M. R. M., Abu-Raddad, L. J., Abushouk, A. I., ... Murray, C. J. L. (2020). Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet, 396(10258), 1204-1222. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30925-9
World Bank. (2025a). Life expectancy at birth, total (years) [Data set]. World Development Indicators. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN
World Bank. (2025b). Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) [Data set]. World Development Indicators. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT
World Health Organization. (2018). Global status report on road safety 2018. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565684
PU335 Unit 3 instructions, in plain terms
In Unit 3 students compare the burden of disease in two countries. The worksheet should define the measures used, typically life expectancy, child mortality and disability-adjusted life years, and give recent figures from named sources. Students are asked to explain where each country's burden comes from by cause group and age. Most prompts expect a theory, such as the epidemiologic transition, to interpret the difference. A section on the limits of the data is usually required, especially for countries with weak registration systems. The worksheet should finish with what the comparison implies for each country's priorities. Tables or short labeled sections are acceptable, but each figure needs a year and a source.
Inside the PU335 Unit 3 example
The sample defines each measure briefly, then gives the 2023 life expectancy and under-five mortality figures with their World Bank sources. The burden section contrasts Haiti's communicable, maternal and newborn conditions with the Dominican Republic's chronic disease and injury burden, citing the World Health Organization's road safety report. A highlighted line sums up the contrast as the age at which each country loses healthy years. Omran's transition theory interprets the pattern and the idea of a double burden is introduced for Haiti. The data limits section explains modeled estimates and undercounted migrants. Two priority lists follow, newborn care and water for Haiti, blood pressure control and road safety for the Dominican Republic.
Reading the PU335 Unit 3 grading rubric
Burden of disease worksheets are usually graded on accurate definitions, correct and sourced figures, interpretation and practical conclusions. Figures should be recent and come from recognized data sets with years given. Graders look for comparison by cause group, not only overall mortality. A theory should be used to explain the pattern rather than simply named. Recognizing data limits, such as modeled estimates and incomplete registration, shows critical reading of the numbers. The priorities proposed should follow from the burden described. Sources such as the Global Burden of Disease study and World Bank indicators should be cited in APA 7. Readers also value a short summary line that captures the main contrast between the two countries.
PU335 Unit 3 help: mistakes that cost points
Burden worksheets often present numbers without saying what they mean or why they differ. Another frequent error is mixing years or sources so the figures cannot be compared. Some students define DALYs but never use them. The epidemiologic transition is sometimes described as inevitable rather than shaped by policy. Data limits are often left out entirely, even for countries where estimates are mostly modeled. Before starting, pull the same indicators for both countries from one source and note the year for each. Then group the leading causes by type. Send the two countries and the worksheet template, and the comparison can be organized around those figures.
Get a PU335 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Send the countries and the worksheet instructions with the rubric. A custom comparison reads the data and explains the differences. The first is free, back within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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PU335 Unit 3 questions, answered
What is a DALY?
A disability-adjusted life year, combining years lost to early death and years lived with disability.
Where does burden data come from?
Often the Global Burden of Disease study and the World Bank's indicators.
What is the epidemiologic transition?
The shift from infectious to chronic diseases as leading causes of death as countries develop.
Where can I find a free PU335 Unit 3 sample paper?
The complete PU335 Unit 3 burden of disease worksheet is available here, comparing Haiti and the Dominican Republic with sourced figures.
Which theory interprets the gap in the PU335 Unit 3 sample?
Omran's epidemiologic transition, with Haiti carrying a double burden of infectious and chronic disease.