Midterm Flashcards
Define public health.
The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private communities, and individuals
What is the role of public health in health professions?
A large portion of health professions involve the treatment of a single patient (physicians, nurses, etc.); however, public health aims to prevent the disease before it even has a chance to make someone sick. The three goals of public health are to prevent the spread of disease, protect populations from the spread of disease, and promote/educate ways that populations can keep themselves healthy.
Describe a brief history of public health.
Prior to 1850: system was characterized by recurrent epidemics of infectious diseases, with little in the way of collective response possible.
Second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th century (sanitary movement): science-based control measures were organized and deployed through a public health infrastructure that was developing in the form of local and state health departments
After 1950: gaps in the medical care system and federal grant dollars acted together to increase public provision of a wide range of medical services; increase set the stage for the current reexamination of the links between medical and public health practice.
What are the core functions of public health?
Assess: gathering and analyzing data to understand the health needs of the community; examples include investigating disease outbreaks and utilizing a community health assessment
Develop policy: creating policies based on the assessment to address those needs; examples include identifying resources for policy implementation and prioritizing the health needs that need to be addressed first
Assure: ensuring that the policies are implemented and that services are provided to meet the community’s needs; examples include informing/educating the public and evaluating programs to certify their effectiveness
What are the 10 major achievements of public health?
- Immunizations
- Motor vehicle safety (Highway Safety Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act)
- Workplace safety
- Control of infectious diseases (Antibiotics, vaccination)
- Decline in heart disease and stroke (Framingham Heart Study)
- Safer and healthier foods (disease resistant, pasteurization, refrigeration)
- Healthier mothers and babies (antimicrobials, milk hygiene, vaccination)
- Family planning (Margaret Snager)
- Fluoridation of drinking water
- Tobacco as a health hazard
What are the 3 levels of prevention? Give examples of prevention for a disease.
Primary: intervening before health effects occur, through measures such as vaccinations, altering risky behaviors (poor eating habits, tobacco use), and banning substances known to be associated with a disease or health condition
Secondary: screening to identify diseases in the earliest stages, before the onset of signs and symptoms, through measures such as mammography and regular blood pressure testing
Tertiary: managing disease post diagnosis to slow or stop disease progression through measures such as chemotherapy, rehabilitation, and screening for complications
Infant mortality:
Primary: immunizations, improved access to nutrition
Secondary: screening newborn for diseases, access to better nutrition and healthcare
Tertiary: treatment for specific diseases, correcting for natural deficiencies
CVD:
Primary: exercising daily, eating a balanced diet
Secondary: changing lifestyle (exercising more or eating a better diet), medications to control factors associated with CVD (like blood pressure)
Tertiary: heart surgeries (like a bypass), insertion of medical devices
Breast cancer:
Primary: not taking hormones after menopause, ceasing risky behaviors (like smoking and excessive drinking)
Secondary: mammograms, genetic testing for genes linked to increased risk
Tertiary: chemotherapy, screening for complications
How have demographics shifted in public health? How does this affect population health?
Populations all over the world are living to be older, so causes of death are moving away from infectious diseases and towards chronic diseases like cancer, CVD, and diabetes.
This affects population health by having local, state, and federal governments fund more programs/research about longterm diseases like cancer and CVD.
It also affects population health because pharmaceutical companies because chronic disease medications make more money than other medications (namely because patients use them for a longer period compared to antibiotics or antivirals). Because of our increased reliance on chronic disease medication, other medication types like antibiotics/antivirals are being neglected because they don’t generate as much profit. Due to medication patents expiring, companies may feel the need to market their drug heavily and encourage its overuse. The more we use antibiotics/antivirals, the more chances we have for microbes to evolve into antibiotic-resistant strains.
What are the roles of important organizations (CDC, FDA, WHO, etc.) in public health?
The CDC supports research into public health issues (vaccinations for diseases, chronic illness reduction, etc.), helps evaluate public health interventions to determine the best ones for preventing disease transmission, and creates resources for health education to promote health across the country.
The FDA protects the health of the U.S. population by ensuring the safety and/or efficacy of items used by humans and animals, such as medicine, food, cosmetics, medical devices, and animal drugs/food. They use strict regulations to make sure that products are safe and heavily fine companies that violate these regulations.
The role of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to achieve global health equity. Some of the actions they do are vaccine development/research, health education in developing countries, helping countries with emergency disease outbreaks by providing relevant supplies, and improving access to essential medicines.
What are the responsibilities of the CDC in promoting public health and preventing disease? (5)
Provides a system of health surveillance to monitor and prevent disease outbreaks (including bioterrorism threats)
Maintains national health statistics
Provides immunization services
Supports research into disease and injury prevention
Guards against international disease transmission
How can state health agencies promote public health? (8)
Providing funding for LHDs to continue offering health services to their communities
Running statewide prevention programs (i.e. newborn screening)
Providing services of experts with specialized skills in the event that they are needed (i.e. disease outbreak specialists)
Collecting and analyzing statewide vital statistics, health indicators, and morbidity data to target public health threats (i.e. the publication of a morbidity/mortality report for the state)
Directing statewide investigations of disease outbreaks, environmental hazards, and other public health emergencies
Monitoring the use of funds and other resources to ensure they are used effectively and equitably
Conducting statewide health planning, improvement, and evaluation
Licensing and regulating healthcare, food services, and other facilities
What are the roles of services offered by local health departments? (10)
Adult and childhood immunizations
Communicable disease control
Community assessment
Community outreach and education
Environmental health services
Epidemiology and surveillance programs
Food safety/restaurant inspections
Health education
Tuberculosis testing
STI testing
What is a community health needs assessment? What is CHIP? How can these be used to address public health problems?
Community health needs assessment: a collaborative process of collecting and analyzing data and information for use in educating and mobilizing communities, developing priorities, garnering resources or using resources in different ways, adopting or revising policies, and planning actions to improve the population’s health
Community health improvement plan (CHIP): is a long-term, systematic plan to address issues identified in the assessment; describes how the health department and the community it serves will work together to improve the health of the population of the jurisdiction that the health department serves; can be used to set priorities, direct the use of resources, and develop and implement projects, programs, and policies
The community health needs assessment helps address public health problems by gauging what specific problems are plaguing a community
CHIP helps address public health problems by providing evidence-based solutions for health needs, evaluating the effectiveness of interventions, and analyzing the root causes of prevalent problems
Define bioterrorism.
Bioterrorism: the threatened or intentional release of biologic agents (viruses, bacteria, or their toxins) for the purpose of influencing the conduct of government or intimidating/coercing a civilian population to further political or social objectives
Agents can be released via air, water, food, or insects
Define risk communication.
Risk communication refers to the exchange of real-time information, advice and opinions between experts and people facing threats to their health, economic or social well-being
Ultimate purpose: enable people at risk to make informed decisions to protect themselves and their loved ones
What are the responsibilities of the FDA in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (3)
Ensures that products like food, cosmetics, radiation-transmitting products, and medical devices are safe for human use/consumption through rigorous testing
Oversees feed and drugs for pets and farm animals
Enforces public health policies to ensure that companies are adhering to regulatory health laws
What are the responsibilities of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (5)
Provides health resources for medically underserved populations
Builds the healthcare workforce and maintains the National Health Service Corps
Provides services to people with AIDS
Oversees organ transplantation system
Works to defeat infant mortality and improve maternal and child health
What are the responsibilities of the Indian Health Services (IHS) in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (3)
Provides federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives
Principal healthcare provider and health advocate for Native Americans
Goal is to raise health status to the highest possible level
What are the responsibilities of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (2)
Strengthen healthcare capacity to provide prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for substance abuse and mental illnesses
Works in partnership with states, communities, and private organizations to address needs of people with substance abuse and mental illnesses as well as the community risk factors that contribute to these illnesses
What are the responsibilities of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (3)
Works with other states and federal agencies to prevent exposure to hazardous materials from waste sites
Conducts public health assessments, health studies, surveillance activities, and health education training in communities around waste sites
Develops toxicity profiles of hazardous chemicals found at these sites
What are the responsibilities of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (1)
Supports cross-cutting research on healthcare systems, healthcare quality and cost issues, and effectiveness of medical treatment
What is the benefit of a SWOT analysis in public health?
A SWOT analysis is a tool used to identify internal and external factors that may promote or inhibit a program’s success. The benefit of a SWOT analysis in public health is that it allows program creators to effectively identify barriers to their program’s success and create a plan to reduce/eliminate those barriers.
For example, a successful program may provide data-based evidence that maternal deaths have decreased in the population/community, and an unsuccessful program may result in a loss of funding for an LHD.
Example: an LHD creating a harm reduction program may use a SWOT analysis to identify these factors:
- Staff is educated enough to provide naloxone trainings to prevent overdoses (strength)
- The LHD doesn’t have enough funding to buy a lot of nalaxone (weakness)
- The program can partner with a local college to provide an easily accessible location for willing participants and recruit college students at the same time (opportunity)
- The community may think that naxolone trainings encourage drug use and push back against the program (threat)
What are the responsibilities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in promoting public health and preventing diseases? (3)
Provides leadership and direction to programs designed to improve the health of the nation
Supports and conducts research in: causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human disease; processes of human growth and development; biological effects of environmental contaminants; and understanding of mental, addictive, and physical disorders
Helps direct programs for the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information in medicine and health, including the development and support of medical libraries and the training of medical librarians/health information specialists
