Learning Objectives (6-12) Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is community health?
- the health status of a defined group of people
- the actions and conditions to promote, protect, and preserve their health
- protecting or improving the health of a population
What are some physical factors that affect health?
- Geography (e.g. climate, latitude, altitude)
- Built and Natural Environment (e.g. soil, water, air)
- Community Size (Larger community=more health proffesionals/resources/disease)
- Industrial Development (more resources/technology/pollution)
What are some social/cultural factors that affect health?
- Beliefs, traditions, and prejudices
- Economy
- Politics
- Religion
- Social Norms
- Socioeconomic Status
What were some ascepts of communinty health evident in anceint communities? (the earliest civilizations)
- Archeological findings provide evidence of sewage disposal prior to 2000 B.C.
- The Code of Hammurabi included laws for physicians and health practices
- The Book of Leviticus which is in _the Torah and the Bible provide guidelines for personal cleanliness and sanitation _
What were some aspects of community health in the classical cultures (500 BC - 500 AD) ?
- Greeks were involved in community sanitation
- Romans improved on the community sanitation of Greeks, created regulation for building construction, street cleaning and repair, and created hospitals as infirmaries for slaves
- Christians created hospitals as benevolent charitable organizations
- When the Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D., most public health activities ceased
What were some aspects of community health during the Middle Ages (500 AD - 1500) ?
- Known as the spiritual era of public health
- Growth of spirituality and health problems were considered to have spiritual causes and spiritual solutions
- Failure to take into account the role of physical and biological environment in the causes of diseases resulted in many epidemics
- Deadliest epidemic was the Black Plague
- Also had leper, smallpox, diphtheria, measles, influenza, tuberculosis, anthrax, and trachoma epidemics
- Syphilis epidemic of 1492
What were some aspects of community health during the Renaissance (1500 - 1700) ?
- Shift in belief that disease was caused by environmental, not spiritual, factors
- Observations of sick people lead to more accurate descriptionof symptoms and outcomes of diseases; this led to the recognition that whooping cough, typhus, scarlet fever, and malaria were different diseases
- More epidemics
- Europeans continued to spread disease to indigenous people and colonies throughout the New World
What were some key elements of community health during the eighteenth century (1700s) ?
- Period characterized by industrial growth; workplaces were unsafe and unhealthy
- 1790 - first U.S. Census
- 1793 - yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia
- 1796 - Dr. Edward Jenner successfully demonstrated smallpox vaccination
- 1798 - Marine Hospital Service was formed
- 1799 - several of America’s largest cities had municipal boards of health
- Average life expectancy in the USA low; 29 years
What were some key elements of community health during the nineteenth century (1800s) ?
- In 1850, the modern era of public health began
- 1854 London had another cholera epidemic
- 1863 Pasteur proposed the germ theory of disease –> guides all modern medicine practice
- 1876 Robert Koch established relationship between a particular microbe and a particular disease
- Last quarter of the nineteenth century known as the bacteriological period of public health
What are the major community health eras in the twentieth century (modern time - 1990s) and subsequent elements of each era?
- 1900-1920: The Reform Phase (Progressive era-first national health agency, first local health depts)
- 1920s-1940s: The Great Depression & WWII (New Deal attempt at national health care program, Social Security Act (1935), end of WWII brought on more concern for public health)
- 1950s: Post-war years (National Hospital Survey and Construction Act (1946) ,CDC (1946), polio vaccine (1952), President Eisenhower has a heart attack (1955) spiking more public concern for health)
- 1960-1973: Period of social engineering in public health (Medicare and Medicaid bills (1965))
- 1974-present: Period of health promotion in public health (Nixon’s 2nd/Clinton’s 3rd attempt to establish national health care program)
What is the overall perspective/attitude towards community health that has developed in the 2000s ?
We’re now beginning to realize that we need to create environments that are more conducive to better health outcomes to truly affect the quality of life in communities
What are some current and future environmental issues that need to be addressed in community health ?
- Poor quality of air to breathe
- Unsafe water to drink
- Solid wastes disposed of improperly
What are some current and future community health issues dealing with Health Care Delivery ?
- The rise in health care cost (US will continue to have most expensive health care in the world)
What are some current and future community health issues concerning Lifestyle Diseases ?
- The prevalence of obesity and diabetes is increasing
- In the early 2000’s the 4 leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and stroke
What are some current and future community health issues regarding Communicable Disease ?
- They are the primary reason for days missed at school or at work
- New communicable diseases continue to appear
- Older diseases like tuberculosis are coming back in more drug resistant forms
- Bioterrorism
What are some current and future community health issues regarding alcohol and other drug abuse ?
- The use and abuse of legal and illegal drugs is controversial and cost the United States billions of dollars each year
- Alcohol and other drugs are often associated with unintentional injuries, domestic violence, and violent crimes
What are health disparities?
Differences in health among different populations (e.g. between low SES and high SES)
What are some current and future community health issues concerning Disasters ?
- Natural disasters- are a result of the combination of the forces of nature
- Human made disasters- are a result of unintentional or intentional injuries
- Both have the potential to potential to cause injury, death, disease and damage to property on a large scale
What are some key characteristics of Government Agencies that distinguishes them from other types of community health organizations ?
- Funded primarily through tax dollars
- Have some authority over a geographic region
- Can exist at four levels- international, national, state, and local
What are some key characteristics of National Health Agencies that distiguishes them from other types community health organizations?
- Developing health policies
- Enforce of health regulations
- Provision of health services and programs
- Funding research
- Support the state and local health agencies
What are some key characteristics of State Health Departments that distinguishes them from other types of community health organizations ?
- Monitor health status to identify community health problems
- Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community
- Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues
- Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems
- Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts
- Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety
- Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable
- Ensure a competent public health and personal health care workforce
- Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population based health services
- Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems
What are some key characteristics of Local Health Departments that distinguishes them from other types of communty health organizations ?
- It is through local health departments that health services are provided to the community
- Inspection of restaurants, public buildings, and transportation systems
- The detection and reporting of certain diseases
- The collection of vital statistics such as births and deaths
- May have flexibility to implement safety belt programs and immunization clinics
What are some key characteristics of Cooridnated School Health Programs that distinguishes them from other community health organizations ?
- Referring to an organized set of policies, procedures, and activities designed to protect, promote, and improve the health and well-being of students and staff
- Main components are components are comprehensive health education, a healthy school environment, and health services
What are some key characteristics of Quasi-Governmental Health Agencies that distinguishes them from other community health organizations ?
- That have some official health responsibilities but operate in part like volunteer health organizations independent of the government
- They derive funding from governmental and private sources