Module 1: Health and Wellness; Assessing Credibility Flashcards
Define and explain the difference between life expectancy and lifespan
- life expectancy: calculated average number of years that people in a population will live; can be used in conjunction with IMR to measure a population’s health
- lifespan: number of years that a species are biologically wired to live
What is the average Canadian life expectancy? List some reasons why life expectancy has increased since the 1900s (8)
males: 79; females: 83
- Antibiotic use
- Vaccines
- Healthier foods
- Motor vehicle safety
- Fluoridation of drinking water
- Safer workplaces
- Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
- Decreasing infant mortality rate
Define and explain the difference between health and wellness
- health: overall condition of the body and/or mind and the presence/absence of illness or injury; some aspects can be determined or influenced by factors beyond your control (ex: genes, age, health care system)
- wellness: optimal health and vitality, encompassing all the dimensions of well-being; Largely determined by decisions you make;
Enhanced wellness involves controlling risk factors that contribute to disease and/or injury - both are processes of living rather than states
Describe and explain the difference between the medical model of health and health promotion (1970s)
Medical model
- Viewed as an absence of disease; focuses on disorder rather than individual
- Can be seen as a sliding scale; linear
- Places responsibility of the health on physician
- Goal: prevent morbidity and mortality (sickness and death)
Health Promotion
- Enabled people to increase control over and improve their own health
- Emphasis on prevention over treatment
- Focused on empowerment, community support, public health policy, knowledge translation
- The start of relating mortality in a population to risk factors
Describe the 3 levels of health through prevention of illness
Personal level
- changing your own behaviour to reduce risk
Community level
- Health promoters target high risk groups and focus on prevention and/or early detection
Health-care provider level
- Physicians act as a resource to raise awareness and impart knowledge of risk factors
Briefly describe the Framingham Study
An ongoing epidemiological study starting in 1948. People who didn’t smoke, drank moderately at most, were physically active and ate 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day lived ~14 years longer
List the social determinants of health (14)
- Income
- Education
- Job security
- Employment and working conditions
- Early childhood development
- Food insecurity
- Housing
- Social exclusion
- Social safety net
- Health services
- Indigenous status
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Disability
List some health risks/ challenges that indigenous people face
- 1.5-2x rate of Heart disease
- 3-5x the rate of Type 2 diabetes
- 30x rate of infection from tuberculosis
List strategies to improve social determinants of health (7)
- Social inclusion, reducing injustice
- High quality public education and affordable post-secondary education
- Full employment, job security, healthy working conditions
- Reducing income disparities
- Universal health care access
- Adequate housing and food security
- Empowering individuals to make informed health-related decisions
List the 7 dimensions of wellness
- physical
- emotional
- intellectual
- interpersonal
- spiritual
- environmental
- financial
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: physical
- eating well
- exercising
- receiving regular check ups
- avoiding harmful habits
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: emotional
- optimism
- trust
- self acceptance
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: intellectual
- openness to new ideas
- critical thinking skills
- creativity
- curiosity
- lifelong learning
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: interpersonal
- communication
- capacity for intimacy
- ability to cultivate support system of friends and family
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: spiritual
- capacity for love
- forgiveness
- compassion
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: environmental
- having access to clean and natural resources
- recycling whenever possible
- reducing pollution and waste
List some examples of good associated behaviours/ qualities of the following dimension of wellness: financial
- financial literacy
- saving
- budgeting
What are the leading causes of death in Canada (10)
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Accidents
- Stroke
- Chronic lower respiratory infections
- Influenza and pneumonia
- Diabetes
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Suicide
- Chronic liver disease
List the stages of change (6)
- precontemplation
- contemplation
- preparation
- action
- maintenance
- termination
SMART goals
specific measureable attainable realistic timely
Factors that improve the likelihood of behaviour change (5)
Self-efficacy:
- belief in one’s ability to achieve a goal
Internal locus of control/reinforcement:
- reliance on internal rather than external sources of motivation
Self-talk:
- ability to coach one’s self towards a goal
Support:
- can include many sources; friends, family, groups, community
Identify and overcome barriers
List the hierarchy of evidence (5)
- Experimental: scientific method and well designed research study
- Epidemiological: seeks to find relationships between variables by looking at trends (observation only)
- Clinical: evidence from health care professionals and clinicians
- Personal: something you experienced personally
- Anecdotal: something someone else experienced and told you about
What does the ultimate study design include (4)?
- randomized study group
- double blinding
- placebo
- cross over: switch control and experimental group; if results are similar to the first round of testing, strong support for hypothesis
From an epidemiological study, the ability to ascertain cause and affect depends on what factors (6)?
- Strength of association
- Dose-response: does the risk increase the more a person does/consumes x?
- Consistency: do multiple studies show the same link?
- Temporally correct: is the timing right?
- Specificity: is the increased risk specific to x?
- Biological plausibility
Describe clinical evidence
Clinical evidence comes from the experience of clinicians (physicians, dentists, chiropractors, athletic trainers, etc.
May not be formally tested scientifically
What are some ways to assess credibility/ evaluate health information?
- Go to the original source
- Watch for misleading language
- Distinguish between research reports and public health advice
- Anecdotes are not facts
- Be skeptical
- Make choices that are right for you
