C3 - Public Health: Key Terms Flashcards
Epidemiologist
Public health professional who investigates patterns and causes of disease and injury in a given population, and seeks to reduce the risk, occurence, and negative impacts of these threats through research, public education, and legislative change.
Epidemiology
The study of the causes, patterns, prevalence, and control of disease in groups of people.
Evaluation
Collection of the methods, skills, and activities necessary to determine whether a service or program is needed, likely to be used, conducted as planned, and actually helps people.
Haddon Matrix
A framework developed by William Haddon, Jr, MD, as a method to generate ideas about injury prevention that address the host, agent, and environment and their impact in the pre-event, event, and post-event phases of the injury process.
Intentional Injuries
Injuries that are purposefully inflicted by a person on himself or herself or on another person; examples include suicide or attempted suicide, homicide, rape, assault, domestic abuse, elder abuse, and child abuse.
Interventions
In the context of prevention, specific measures or activities designed to meet a program objective; catergories include education/behavior change, environment/legislation, engineering/technology; and economic incentives.
Morbidity
Number of nonfatally injured or disabled people; usually expressed as a rate, meaning the number of nonfatal injuries in a certain population in a given time period divided by the size of the population.
Mortality
Deaths caused by injury and disease; usually expressed as a rate, meaning the number of deaths in a certain population in a given time period divided by the size of the population.
Outcome (Impact) Objectives
State the intended effect of the program on participants or on the community in such terms as the participants’ increased knowledge, changed behaviors or attitudes, or decreased injury rates.
Passive Interventions
Something that offers automatic protection from injury or illness, often without requiring any conscious change of behavior by the person; child-resistant bottles and airbags are examples.
Primary Prevention
Keeping as injury or illness from occuring.
Process Objectives
State how a program will be implemeted, describing the service to the provided, the nature of service, and to whom it will be directed.
Public Health
An industry whose mission is to prevent disease and promote health within groups of people.
Risk
A potentially hazardous situation that puts people in a position in which they could be harmed.
Risk Factors
Characteristics of people, behaviors, or environments that increase the chances of disease or injury; some examples are alcohol use, poverty, smoking, or gender.
