Midterm #1 What is Population Health? Flashcards
What is the general understanding of what it means to be “healthy”?
Trick question! It’s subjective, means different things to different people
Health is an abstract concept that is difficult to define
WHO’s definition of health
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
Criticisms of the WHO definition of health
- Idealistic and unattainable (are we ever truly healthy?)
- We cannot operationalize this in a practical setting (ex. when working with a client)
- More aspects of health than physical, mental, and social. There’s also financial, spiritual, etc.
- Hard to categorize people, or measure (epidemiology)
What are the 2 models of health?
Medical model
Social model
What is the medical model?
- Narrow and simplistic understanding
- Medically biased, only considers absence of disease (ex. healthy defined by what BP range the patient is in)
- Ignores wider factors outside of the body
- Based on scientific and expert knowledge
- Emphasis on personal, individual responsibility
What is the social model?
- Broad, complex understanding
- Holistic, considers factors outside of the physical body (mental, social, etc.)
- Considers wider influences out of our control (ex. inequality and environment)
- Uses lay knowledge
- Emphasis on collective responsibility
WHO definition fits in here
Which is the better, more correct model?
Neither is wrong, just different perspectives
What is a population?
A group of individuals with a common characteristic
Ex. residence, gender, age, experience, etc.
What are the 2 types of populations?
Fixed
Dynamic or Open
Characteristics of a fixed population?
- Membership is permanent
- Based on an event
- No one new can join
Ex. Japanese atomic bomb survivors
Characteristics of a dynamic/open population?
- Membership is based on a changeable condition (transitory)
Ex. Residents of a city, hospital patients
What is a steady state open population?
A population where the number of people leaving is the same as the number of people entering
How would a country (like Canada) see net population?
Through a census
What is population health?
An approach/way of thinking to health that aims to improve the health of the entire population, and to reduce health inequalities among population groups
- Looks at and acts upon the broad range of health factors and conditions that influences it
Ex. lower SES has poorer health
- How we intervene and target factors and determinants
What are the different types of health research?
Basic, clinical, and population health research
Who/what is studied in BASIC health research?
What/who: Cells, tissues, animals in laboratory settings (tightly controlled)
Goals: Understanding disease mechanisms + effects of toxic substances
What is an example of BASIC health research?
Toxicology, immunology
Who/what is studied in CLINICAL health research?
What/who: Sick patients who come to healthcare facilities
Goals: Improving diagnosis + treatment of disease (not really prevention)
What is an example of CLINICAL health research?
Internal medicine, paediatrics
Who/what is studied in POPULATION health research?
What/who: populations/communities
Goals: prevention of disease, promotion of health
What is an example of POPULATION health research?
Epidemiology, environmental health science
What occasion led to the development of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and Achieving Health for All?
It was developed at the first international conference on health promotion
Driven by idea to save money on healthcare costs (what if people didn’t get sick in the first place?)
What year was the Ottawa Charter developed?
1986
What does the Ottawa Charter focus on?
Broader social, economic, and environmental factors
