Introduction to Public Health Flashcards
What is the definition of health according to WHO?
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
What is epidemiology?
The study of patterns of diseases
What does understanding disease in a community help with?
Understanding disease in a community helps inform understanding for individuals - prevention, prognosis, treatment
What 3 things does epidemiology focus on?
Time, place, person
What does benchmarking in epidemiology allow?
Benchmarking informs improvement
What does benchmarking in epidemiology allow?
Benchmarking informs improvement
Describe how a whole system approach works?
A whole system approach works with communities and stakeholders to understand current and emerging public health issues the problem and support identification and testing of solutions.
System change is a long-term endeavour, often delivered through incremental steps and collaboratively with many partners
What are the 3 steps involved in a whole system approach?
1). Collectively form an understanding of the
issue, context and wider system.
2). Create a plan for action collaboratively
with a wide set of stakeholders. Actions
should be aligned and jointly prioritised.
3). Learn and refine as you go by involving
stakeholders and embedding
monitoring and evaluation. Considering
the ‘so what?’ and ‘now what?’
How does health vary from those in higher and lower social positions?
Typically those who are in lower social positions have worse health
Where do health inequalities result from and what must be done to combat this?
Health inequalities result from social inequalities.
Action on health inequalities requires action across all of the social determinants of health to reduce the gradient in. health
What percentage of the population are disability free at retirement age?
20%
How does the Marmot principles 2 address health inequalities?
The marmot review states that;
- Give every child the best start in life
- Enable all children, young people and
adults to maximise their capabilities and
have control over their lives
- Create fair work and good employment
for all
- Ensure health standard of living for all
- Create and develop healthy and
sustainable places and communities
- Strengthen the role and impact of ill-
health prevention
What 3 things can we do to care for a community, rather than a single person?
1). We need information on community health to identify problems - Information must be at the right level for the issue
2). Priorities and actions are decided by representatives for a community —
elected local councillors, local NHS
3). Evidence is needed to develop appropriate options — data shows us the
past and present, research and good practice show us the potential ways
to achieve change
What are the 3 categories looked at in health economics and what is involved in them?
1) . Return on investment - Where we are looking at the health gain that is likely to be achieved through a specific spend, or the comparison of the cost and gains of treatment options
2) . Prioritisation - The discussion and decisions round which treatment will be funded for patients, including individual funding requests
3) . Drug access - Drug pricing and access
What kind of diagram is used to look at public health over time and what are the 2 advantages of using this?
Five waves of public health
Advantages;
- Asset based approach
- Adverse Childhood Experiences/Trauma informed care
