I+P Flashcards
what is the WHO definition of health
a state of complete physical, psychological + social well-being, not simply the absence of disease or infirmity
what is the difference between a necessary cause and a sufficient cause of a disease?
necessary cause:
- MUST be present
- eg you need to be exposed to a virus to get a disease
sufficient cause:
- will cause outcome
- could contribute to disease, but need other stuff as well
necessary cause + sufficient cause = 100% correlation of cause and disease
list these 8 types of studies from most scientifically valid to least:
- anecdotes
- case control studies
- case reports
- cohort studies
- controlled trials
- cross-sectional surveys/incidence register
- ecological studies
- randomised controlled trials
1) randomised controlled trials (RCT)
2) controlled trials
3) cohort studies
4) case control studies
5) ecological studies
6) cross-sectional surveys/incidence register
7) case reports
8) anecdotes
what’s the difference between prevelence and incidence?
what is each best for?
prevelence:
- no. of people at a specific time who have the disease
- tends to just be used for chronic diseases
incidence:
- no. of people who contracted the disease over a given period (eg a year) compared to how many people at risk in the population
- can be used for chronic or acute diseases
what’s the difference between accuracy and precision?
accuracy = a lack of systematic error
precision = a lack of random error
what does validity mean?
how well a scientific test or piece of research actually measures what it sets out to, or how well it reflects the reality it claims to represent.
what is a confounding factor?
aka a confounding variable
a variable in a quantitative research study that explains some, or all, of the correlation between the dependent variable and an independent variable
what are the main differences between quantitative research and qualitative research?
quantitative:
- what? how many? how often?
- variables are concieved before research begins (cause + effect)
- research Q/hypothesis comes first
- statistical analysis, once taught, anyone can do it
- findings = generalisable
qualitative:
- why? how? when? who?
- no preconcieved assumptions (exploratory)
- patterns emerge from the collected data
- individual interpretation (take a lot of practise to do it well + needs knowledge in breadth + depth of research topic)
- findings = unique, insightful
give some examples of qualitative research methods?
- content analysis
- grounded theory
- framework analysis
- interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA)
- protocol analysis
- discourse analysis
- conversation analysis
- ethonography
- phenomenology
“so basically if it has the word analysis in the description then likely to be qualitative”
describe the difference between a case-control study and a cohort study
which is best for rare diseases and which is best for rare exposures?
case-control study:
- patients witha disease (case) are compared to people without the disease (controls) and compared for an exposure (potential cause
- this is retrospective so recall bias
- best for rare diseases
cohort study:
- get a cohort of people and follow them up over a period of time and constantly ask them about potential exposures then see who gets the disease + who doesn’t (can also do for multiple diseases)
- very costly to continue surveying, lots of dropouts
- best for rare exposures
what’s the difference between a single-blind RCT and a double-blind RCT?
single-blind
- patient doesn’t know whether getting placebo or real
double-blind
- patient AND clinician/scientist doesn’t know whether getting placebo or real
what is the definition of need?
an individual’s, or population’s ability to benefit from health care/interventions in terms of potential prevention as well as curative services
what is a health needs assessment? incl purpose and desired outcome
a tool to describe + evaluate patterns of disease in a population + do something about it
- learn more about needs + priorities of people
- highlight areas of unmet need
- provide a clear set of objectives
- enable sound decisions about how to allocate resources
- influence policy, partnership working and collaboration
define lifestyle
a way of living based on identifiable patterns of behaviours. harachteristics, social interactions + socioeconomic + environmental living conditions
define health behaviour and risky behaviour?
health behaviour:
- any activity undertaken by an individual, to promote or maintain health, regardless whether or not such behaviour is objectively towards that end
risky behaviour:
- specific forms of behaviour which are proven to be asdsociated with increase susceptibility to a specific disease or ill-health
what are the four biggest causes of preventable deaths in the developedc world?
- smoking
- alcohol
- poor diet
- inactivity
what is a synergistic risk?
total risk is several times greater than sum of seperate risks
eg laryngeaal cancer for smoker-drinkers
what are the ‘five As’ for modifying health behaviours?
- assess
- advise
- agree
- assist
- arrange
which of these drugs are class A, B + C?
- amphetamines
- amphetamines prepared for injection
- anabolic steroids
- barbituates
- cannabis
- cocaine
- codeine
- crack cocaine
- ecstasy/MDMA
- GHB (date rape)
- heroin
- ketamine
- LSD
- magic mushrooms
- methamphetamine
- ritalin
- temazepam
- valium
- amphetamines = B
- amphetamines prepared for injection = A
- anabolic steroids = C
- barbituates = B
- cannabis = C
- cocaine = A
- codeine = B
- crack cocaine = A
- ecstasy/MDMA = A
- GHB (date rape) = C
- heroin = A
- ketamine = C
- LSD = A
- magic mushrooms = A
- methamphetamine = B
- ritalin = C
- temazepam = C
- valium = C
what are the prison sentences for possession and supply of class A, B + C drugs?
class A
- posession = 7 years
- supply = life
class B
- posession = 5 years
- supply = 14 years
class C
- posession = 2 years
- supply = 14 years
what is the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention?
primary:
- aims to prevent disease/injury before it ever occurs
- eg banning of asbestos, vaccination, health education
secondary:
- aims to reduce the impact of a disease or injury that have already occured by detecting and treating disease or injury asap or halt its progress
- eg mammogram screening, diet/exercise to prevent further MIs/strokes
tertiary:
- aims to soften the impact of an ongoing illness or injury that has lasting effects
- eg cardiac or stroke rehabilitation programmes, depression support groups
what is the prevention paradox?
immunisation against MMR, benefits the population as a whole but, from an individual point of view, chance of benefit outweighed by certainty of pain and possible reaction
overcome this by building healthy public policy, creating supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, re-orientating health services
give definitions of sensitivity and specificity
and how to calculate them
sensitivity:
- the proportion of people with the disease who are idntified as having it by a positive test result
- true positive / (true positive + false negative)
specificity:
- the proportion of people without the disease who are corfrectly re-assured by a negative test result
- true negative / (false positive + true negative)
what is the definition of positive and negative predictive values?
incl how to calculate
positive predictive value:
- the probability that a person with a positive test result actually has the disease
- true positive / (true positive + false positive)
negative predictive value:
- the probability that a person with a negative test result does not actually have the disease
- true negative / (true negative + false negative)
