Final Exam - Terms Flashcards
Public Health
The fulfillment of society’s interest in assuring the conditions in which people can be healthy
Epidemiology
The study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations
Market Justice
Prioritizes individual resources and choices determine the distribution of health care, with little sense of collective obligation or a role of government
Social Justice
Allocates goods and services according to an individual’s needs
Federalism
A form of government in which powers are divided between two levels of equal status
Decentralized Health Department
Relates primarily to local government, although may also report to the state health agency (i.e., NYC)
Centralized Health Department
A unit of the state health agency (i.e., Oklahoma)
Health Equity
Everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthier
Equality
Everyone gets the same - regardless if it’s needed or right for them
Equity
Everyone gets what they need - understanding the barriers, circumstances, and conditions
10 Essential Public Health Services
- Access and monitor population health status, factors that influence health, and community needs and assets
- Investigate, diagnose, and address health problems and hazards affecting the population
- Communicate effectively to inform and educate people about health, factors that influence it, and how to improve it
- Strengthen, support, and mobilize Communities and Partnerships to improve health
- Create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws that impact health
- Utilize legal and regulatory actions designed to improve and protect the public’s health
- Assure an effective system that enables equitable access to the individual services and care needed to be healthy
- Build and support a diverse and skilled public health workforce
- Improve and innovate public health functions through ongoing evaluation, research, and continuous quality improvement
- Build and maintain a strong organizational infrastructure for public health
Infectious Agent
The microorganism which can cause disease
Reservoir
a.k.a. Source of infection, where the microorganism can live and thrive - can be any person, animal, any object in the environment, food or water
Portal of Exit
Describes the way the microorganism leaves the reservoir - examples include coughing, sneezing, feces, and vomit
Mode of Transmission
Describes how microorganisms are transmitted from one person or place to another - could be via someone’s hands, on an object, through the air or bodily fluid contact
Portal of Entry
How the infection enters another individual - could be landing on a mucous membrane, being breathed in, entering via a wound, or a tube such as a catheter
Susceptible Host
Describe the person who is vulnerable to infection
Herd Immunity
When a large portion of the community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected - not just those who are immune.
Endemic
The usual prevalence of a disease in a given area
Epidemic
The occurrence in a community or geographic area of a disease at a rate that clearly exceeds the normally expected rate
“Notifiable” disease
A disease that the law requires to be reported to public health authorities as part of the public health surveillance system
Shoe-leather Epidemiology
The practice of personally investigating disease; outbreaks at the local population level, and not relying on the reports of others
Exposure
Event that comes before the health outcome we are interested in. We are looking for the causal agent - example: smoking
Outcome/disease
The end of the causal path, what disease or health outcome we are interested in studying - example: cancer
Confounder
A variable that alters or influences the relationship between the exposure and the outcome - example: age
Associations
Finding statistical similarities between the cause of a disease or health outcome, since you cannot 100% prove the cause in statistics (the math behind epidemiology)
Determinants
Risk factors for a disease/outcome - example: personal experiences, economic and social factors that can cause disease
Incidence
NEW cases of disease: Person, place, and time needs to be clearly defined
Prevalence
EXISTING cases of disease: Person, place, and time needs to be clearly defined - includes new cases as well as individuals who were previously diagnosed
Epi-Curve / Distribution of Disease
Plotting where or when the disease/outcome occurred, and depicts what has happened over time, including the number of cases, hospitalizations, or death
Pandemic
An outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population
Outbreak
A sudden increase in the incidence of disease
Isolation
Sick people with a contagious disease are separated from people who aren’t sick
Quarantine
People who were exposed to a disease are separated and restricted of movement to see if they become sick - these people may not know they were exposed or may be asymptomatic
Case-Control Study
An epidemiological study that compares individuals affected by a disease with a comparable group of persons who do not have the disease to seek possible causes or associations
Cohort Study
A study of a group of people, or cohort, followed over time to see how some disease or diseases develop
Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT)
A study in which the participants are divided randomly into separate groups that compare different treatments or other interventions
Cross-Sectional Study
A sample of persons from a population is enrolled and their exposures and health outcomes are measured simultaneously
Case Report
A detailed description of a disease occurrence in a single individual. Unusual features of the case may suggest a new hypothesis about the causes or mechanisms of that disease
Systematic Review
A powerful research tool which aims to identify and synthesize all evidence relevant to a research question
Meta-Analysis
A quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of research
Social Epidemiology
The branch of epidemiology that considers how social interactions and collective human activities affect health
Data and Surveillance
Embeds a consistent “Social Determinants of Health” (SDOH) approach to standardization, analysis, and dissemination of data across the agency
Evaluation and Evidence Building
Advancing evaluation and building evidence for strategies that address SDOH to reduce disparities and promote health equity
Partnerships and Collaboration
Establish criteria, actionable steps, and strategies for partnerships, collaborations, and relationships that result in improved health outcomes in the long run
Community Engagement
The process of working collaboratively with groups of people who are affiliated by geographic proximity, special interests, or similar situations with respect to issues affecting their well-being
Infrastructure and Capacity
Communities, states, and the nation have the ability to prevent disease, promote health, and prepare for and respond to ongoing challenges and emerging threats to health
Public Health Policy and Law
Laws, regulations, actions, and decisions implemented within society in order to promote wellness and ensure that specific health goals are met
ACEs
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Individual Choice
Rights that give individuals the freedom to participate in society; when it comes to health, individuals have the choice to engage in healthy or unhealthy behaviors
ACA
Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare)
Morbidity
The term often used to mean illness or disease
Mortality
The term often used to mean death and the death rate per unit of time per year in a population
Unintentional Injury
Injuries that are traffic-related, drownings, falls, burns, and poisonings, for instance
Intentional Injury
Injuries that include homicide, suicide, sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, and harassment, for instance
The Three Es
Education, Enforcement, Engineering
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the federal agency, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, responsible for occupational health and the prevention of occupational injury
Ecological Model
A way of considering individual behavior in the context of the social environment; includes influences at the interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy levels
Surveillance
The continuous, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data needed for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice
Teratogen
An agent, physical or chemical, that leads to malformations in a fetus as it develops
