Module 3: The disease detectives - Measuring health in populations

Question 1

What is population health?

Answer 1

the health outcomes of a group of individuals including the distribution of such outcomes within the group

Question 2

What does NZDep show?

Answer 2

Area based measure of deprivation

• Measured in deciles

Question 3

What are the decile scores?

Answer 3

One = area with least deprived score

ten = area with the most deprived score

Question 4

What is absolute poverty?

Answer 4

Income level below which a minimum nutritionally adequate diet plus essential non-food requirements is not affordable. The amount of income a person, family, or group needs to purchase an absolute amount of the basic necessities of life”

Question 5

What is relative poverty?

Answer 5

The amount of income a person, family, or group needs to purchase a relative amount of basic necessities of life; these basic necessities are identified relative to each society and
economy

Question 6

What does it mean by “social determinants of health”?

Answer 6

The social determinants of health are the conditions in
which people are born, grow, live, work and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.

Question 7

Demographic Transition explains?

Answer 7

• Changes in population death and birth rates
  over time
• Growth and change in populations over time

Question 8

Epidemiological Transition explains?

Answer 8

Changes in population disease patterns over
time
Ø Communicable disease
Ø Non-communicable
diseases

Question 9

What is Epidemiology?

Answer 9

The study of the occurrence and distribution of health-related events, states or processes in specified populations

Question 10

What are the measures of occurance?

Answer 10

Prevalence

Incidence
- Proportion
- Rate

Question 11

What is Incidence proportion sometimes referred to as?

Answer 11

Cumulative incidence

Question 12

What is prevalence?

Answer 12

The proportion of a population who have the disease at a point in
time

Question 13

how is prevalence calculated?

Answer 13

Number of people with the disease at a given point in time

divided by:

Total number of people in the population at that point in time

Question 14

What are the limitations to prevalence?

Answer 14

1. Difficult to assess the development of disease
2. Is influenced by the duration of the disease

Question 15

What is incidence?

Answer 15

The occurrence of new cases of an outcome in a population
during a specific period of follow-up

Question 16

Incidence proportion

Answer 16

The proportion of an outcome-free population that develops the
outcome of interest in a specified time period

Question 17

What are the limitations to Incidence proportion?

Answer 17

• Assumes a ‘closed’ population
  (does not account for people coming or going)
• Highly dependent on the time period
  (longer time period = higher incidence proportion)

Question 18

What is incidence rate?

Answer 18

The rate at which new cases of the outcome of
interest occur in a population

Question 19

How is person-months converted to person-years?

Answer 19

Divide by 12 to get person-years