Definitions

Question 1

Define Aid

Answer 1

To help or provide support or relief in the form of money and/or materials; the aid may be given to an organisation, a community or a specific country

Question 2

Define Asthma

Answer 2

A narrowing of the airways causing wheezing, breathlessness and chest tightness

Question 3

What is AusAid?

Answer 3

The Australian government agency that is responsible for managing Australia’s overseas aid program

Question 4

Define bilateral aid

Answer 4

Aid that is provided by the government of one country to the government of another country. For example, Australia providing aid to PNG

Question 5

What is the biomedical model of health?

Answer 5

An approach to health that focuses on the diagnosis of disease, and intervention using a range of technologies. Focuses on diagnosis and intervention

Question 6

Define burden of disease

Answer 6

The impact of a particular disease or condition in relation to the amount of healthy life lost due to premature death, illness and/or disability

Question 7

Define cancer

Answer 7

A large range of diseases in which some of the body’s cells become defective, begin to multiply out of control, and can invade and damage the area around them; these cells can also spread to other parts of the body to cause further damage

Question 8

Define Cardiovascular Disease

Answer 8

Also known as circulatory disease, this is any disease of the circulatory system (cardio) or blood vessels (vascular), including heart attack, angina, stroke and peripheral vascular disease

Question 9

Define Dementia

Answer 9

A term used to describe the symptoms of a group of illnesses that cause a progressive decline in functioning

Question 10

What are determinants of health?

Answer 10

Factors that can increase the changes of ill health (risk factors) or good health (protective factors) in an individual or population

Question 11

What are the dimensions of health?

Answer 11

Physical
Social
Mental

Question 12

Define direct costs

Answer 12

Payment expenses such as medicines, surgery or rehabilitation to an individual suffering from a medical condition

Question 13

Define Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY)

Answer 13

Years of healthy life lost through premature death or living with disability due to illness or injury

Question 14

Define disease

Answer 14

A physical or mental disturbance involving symptoms, such as pain or feeling unwell, dysfunction or tissue damage, especially if these symptoms and signs form a recognisable clinical pattern

Question 15

What are enzymes?

Answer 15

A specialist type of protein that assists in chemical reactions in the body; enzymes act as biological catalysts performing very specific functions, such as food digestion and muscle contractions

Question 16

Define extreme poverty

Answer 16

This is considered the most severe case of poverty, where people usually cannot meet basic food, clothing, shelter, health care and sanitation needs; according to the World Bank, extreme poverty is when people live on less that $1.25 per day

Question 17

Define Food Security

Answer 17

The state in which all persons can obtain nutritionally adequate, culturally appropriate, safe food regularly through local non-emergency sources

Question 18

Define Globalisation

Answer 18

The increasing interconnectedness of countries and people throughout the world into a ‘global village’ through the greater movement of people, goods, capital and ideas due to increased economic integration, trade and investment, and communication technologies, thus creating an internationalisation of markets for goods and services and an increased interdependency of national markets

Question 19

What is the Glycaemix index?

Answer 19

Relates to the ranking of carbohydrate foods according to the effect these foods have on blood glucose levels

Question 20

Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

Answer 20

A measure of burden of disease based on life expectancy at birth, but including an adjustment for time spent in poor health; it is the number of years in full health that a person can expect to live, based on current rates of ill health and mortality

Question 21

Define health status

Answer 21

An individual’s or population’s overall level of health, taking into account various aspects such as life expectancy, amount of disability and levels of disease risk factors

Question 22

Define Human Development

Answer 22

A process of enlarging people’s choices and enhancing human capabilities and freedoms, enabling them to live a long and healthy life, have access to knowledge and a decent standard of living, and participate in the life of their community and decisions affecting their lives

Question 23

What is the Human Development Index?

Answer 23

A summary composite index, the HDI is a single statistic that measures a country’s average achievement in three basic areas of human development:
Health
Knowledge
Decent Standard of Living

Question 24

Define incidence

Answer 24

The number of new cases of an illness or event occurring during a given period

Question 25

Define indirect costs

Answer 25

These include loss of income or productivity

Question 26

Define infant mortality rate

Answer 26

The risk of an infant dying between birth and one year of age in a given year; usually given per 1000 live births

Question 27

Define intangible costs

Answer 27

Costs that are hard to identify and to measure; these may include such things as pain and suffering

Question 28

Define life expectancy

Answer 28

An indication of how long a person can expect to live; life expectance is the number of years of life remaining to a person at a particular age if death rates do not change

Question 29

Define macronutrients

Answer 29

Those nutrients that the body requires in large quantities i.e. Carbohydrates, proteins

Question 30

Define Malnutrition

Answer 30

A broad term that essentially means ‘bad nourishment’; it is concerned with insufficient as well as too much food, the wrong types of food and the body’s response to a wide range of infections that result in malabsorption of nutrients or the inability to use nutrients properly to maintain health

Question 31

What is the maternal mortality ratio

Answer 31

The number of women dying of pregnancy-related causes; usually given per 100,000 live births

Question 32

Define the mental dimension of health

Answer 32

A state of wellbeing in which individuals realise their own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and are able to make a contribution to their community; a person’s state of mind, including their emotions, feelings and thought processes.

Question 33

Define micronutrients

Answer 33

The nutrients needed in relatively small amounts by the body

Question 34

What are the Millennium Development Goals

Answer 34

A set of eight goals related to reducing poverty, hunger and disease, improving educational opportunities and enhancing survival outcomes for mothers and children

Question 35

Define morbidity

Answer 35

Ill health in an individual or levels of ill health in a population or group

Question 36

Define mortality

Answer 36

Death

Question 37

Define Sustainable Human Development

Answer 37

A process of striving to achieve their full potential, lead more productive lives, expand their choices and meet their needs without compromising the opportunities for future generations to meet their needs.

Question 38

Define Multilateral aid

Answer 38

This aid is given by the government of a particular country to an international organisation

E.g. the World Bank, the UN and WHO, will allocate how the aid money will be distributed; often this will be done via a non-government organisation

Question 39

What are the National Health Priority Areas?

Answer 39

Government-identified focus areas that contribute to the significant burden of illness, injury and disease

Question 40

Define Optimal health

Answer 40

The best possible health to which someone can realistically aspire, in some or all of the three dimensions: physical, social and mental health

Question 41

What is the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion?

Answer 41

A document focusing on health promotion that was produced by the World Health Organisation and launched at the first global health promotion conference in Ottawa, Canada in 1986