Concepts In Community Medicine

Question 1

Definition of Public Health

Answer 1

Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort.

Question 2

What are the objectives of public health?

Answer 2

1. The sanitation of the environment
2. Control of communicable diseases
3. Education of the individual in personal hygiene
4. Medical and nursing services for early diagnosis
5. To ensure adequate living standard of everyone for the maintenance of health,

Question 3

Definition of Community Medicine:

Answer 3

It is the field concentrated on the study of health and disease in the population or group of individuals living in a community rather than individual patients.

Question 4

Definition of health according to World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948:

Answer 4

It is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity.

Question 5

Dimensions of health

Answer 5

1. Physical dimension
2. Mental dimension
3. Social dimension
4. Spiritual dimension
5. Emotional dimension
6. Vocational dimension
7. Others

Question 6

What are the determinants of health?

Answer 6

1. Biological / Hereditary
2. Environmental (micro/macro)
3. Social & economic conditions
4. Life style
5. Health & Family Welfare services
6. Other factors

Question 7

What is the definition of disease?

Answer 7

Disease is an objective state of physiological / psychological dysfunction (what a doctor diagnoses).

Question 8

What is the definition of illness?

Answer 8

Illness is a subjective state of the person who feels aware of not being well (what you have).

Question 9

What is the definition of sickness?

Answer 9

Sickness is a state of social dysfunction (role) (society or community view of condition).

Question 10

What is the difference between control, elimination, and eradication?

Answer 10

Control = reducing (incidence, duration, transmission, effect, financial burden on the community).
Elimination = goal between control and eradication.
Eradication = cessation of infection and disease from the whole world.

Question 11

What are the types of risk factors?

Answer 11

1. Modifiable: such as smoking, hypertension, elevated serum cholesterol, physical inactivity, and obesity.
2. Non modifiable: such as age, sex, race, family history, and genetic factors.
3. Individual risk factors include age, sex, smoking, etc.
4. Community risk factors such as presence of malaria, air pollution, poor water supply, poor health care services, etc.

Question 12

What are the types of prevention?

Answer 12

1. Primordial – Discouraging children from adopting harmful lifestyles (mostly on population level).
2. Primary – pre-pathogenesis phase (prevent the risk factors) (both population and individual level).
3. Secondary – prevent progression (individual level).
4. Tertiary – prevent complication (population level).
5. Quaternary – prevent over medicalization.