Other for the Exam Flashcards
What is epidemiology?
The study of the distribution and patterns of health: events, characteristics and their causes or influences in well-defined populations.
Why do we need to prioritize?
- Health resources are finite
- Each prioritization has an opportunity cost
- Rationing involves an ethical component and evidence-bsed judgement
- It’s difficult to compare apples with oranges
- Individual needs may differ with population needs
Why was the GBD study needed?
- Many countries (especially low/middle income) had incomplete data, mainly focussing on deaths, with little information on disability
- Some lobby groups give a distorted version of disease burden- needed to counteract this
- Methods used to measure/record dis-ease weren’t consistent
- Those not heard (in L/MICs) needed a voice
What were the aims of the GBD project?
- Use a systematic approach to summarize the burden of disease/injury of a population based on epidemiology & evidence
- Take account of deaths AND disability when estimating the burden of disease. (Real life disability is a hidden health issue)
What are DALYs?
Summary measures of population health combining mortality and non-fatal health outcome data to represent the health of a particular population as a single number
What are DALYs made up of?
- Years of Life Lost to premature death (YLL)
- Years lived with Diability (YLD).
- YLD involves the average duration of the non-fatal outcome and its disability weight (based on its severity)
What is interesting about the DALY rat in HICs?
In HICs, the DALY rate is higher than the mortality rate.
In the GBD, what are Group 1 diseases?
Communicable, infectious diseases- this group includes diarrhea, AIDS, and TB. This group also includes injury or death during pregnancy, birth, or very early childhood.
In the GBD, what are Group 2 diseases?
Non-communicable diseases and chronic diseases. They include heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
In the GBD, what are Groups 3 diseases?
Injuries, both unintentional and intentional.
What is a demographic transition?
A decline in the mortality and fertility rates. It’s observable in most developed and some developing areas. It results in an ageing population.
What is an epidemiological transition?
A characteristic shift in causes of death and disability from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases. Happens especially often in HICs.
What is a risk transition?
Occurs when risk factors for communicable diseases (such as dirty water) are outstripped by risk factors for non-communicable diseases (such as tobacco). This happens when a country transitions from low- to high-income
What is a double burden of disease?
Many middle income countries have risk factors for both communicable and non-communicable diseases co-existing in the population, forming a double burden of disease as both communicable AND non communicable diseases are prominent. This has major ramifications for health policy
What were the results of the GBD project?
- Informed priority setting on death and disability
- Bias avoided due to incomplete or ‘mortality-only’ data, especially and L/MICs.
- A method applicable to any population (DALYs)
- NCDs being recognized as not just a HIC problem
- Attention drawn to mental health and injury as a major issue. Prior to the GBD, information on it was not included and tended to to feature prominently in prioritisation
How did the GBD project identify leading risk factors?
By looking at Population Attributable Risk.
(Recall: PAR is the amount of extra disease in a population attributable to a particular risk factor. If their relationship is causal, PAR = how much death can be removed)
How are risk burdens’ severities influenced?
- Strength of association between risk factor and outcome
- How common the exposure to the risk factor is for a population.
How are NCD risk burdens changing?
The risk burden and their exposures are increasing.
What are the NCD underlying factors and their modifiers?
- Caused by environmental determinants, including globalization, urbanization and population ageing
- Modified by hereditary factors
- Modified by lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, smoking)
- Further risk factors are physiological: high BP or blood/glucose, abnormal blood lipids and obesity.
How does industry affect the prevalence of NCDs?
- They market unhealthy commodities and promote unhealthy consumption.
- They seek vulnerable targets, reinforce power inequalities within the population and change our environment
How does industry feature on the population health radar?
Population health must recognize the tension between commercial and health objectives and seek to address broader health determinants.
What is an example of why broader health determinants must be addressed when dealing with industry-promoted health issues?
In NZ, smoking rates decrease but inequities are still high. This is because broad health determinants were not targeted. Instead:
- Social norms changed as smoking became popular among different groups
- More intervention was taken downstream
- Industries actively exploit those with difficulty changing their behaviour.
How can we control tobacco using a ‘right to health’ approach?
- Increasing tobacco prices/taxes
- Legislating smokefree environments
- Banning advertising/sponsorship
- Packaging interventions - plain, or with warnings
- Anti-smoking campaigns
- Cessation support (downstream)
What is an industrial epidemic?
- Disease arises due to overconsumption of unhealthy product
- The industry acts as a ‘vector’, driving consumption by manipulating individual behavior (acting as hosts)
- Focus must be shifted upstream to combat it.
What are some examples of industrial epidemics?
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Fast Food
- Pokies
(Their distribution in different areas is not random, but placed to actively exploit those most at risk)
What makes somebody maori?
- Their ancestry, whakapapa and descent
What is a difference between maori and non-maori ageing structure?
Maori have a younger age structure than non-maori
When was the right to health first acknowledged?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Right to health = people have the right to a standard of living adequate for health, including medical care and security.
It didn’t define the parameters of the right to health (what is meant by this standard of living), but acknowledged the the RTH includes and transcends medical care.
How did the ICESCR further develop the idea of the RTH?
It specifically mentioned RTH, and the steps which govts should take to do what they can to give their citizens the best health possible.
Additionally, it acknowledged that the implementation of these policies was more and less reasonable depending on the country, and encouraged international cooperation to help with this.
How did the UN clarify the RTH in 2000?
Stated that RTH is not the same as the right to be healthy, as this cannot be guaranteed by the government.
It is related both to other human rights and to equity.
What components make up the RTH?
- It is enshrined in international law
- It extends beyond just medicine, and includes health determinants
- It’s linked to social justice and good governments
- Governments must :
- Protect (no interference from 3rd parties like industry)
- Respect (no discrimination)
- Fulfil (adopt measures to achieve equity)
their citizens’ right to health
What do inequities in health show?
Laws/policies which distribute resources and opportunities in a discriminatory manner. Health is political, but it also has a legal element.
How does discrimination affect health, and what should be done about it?
- It impacts many layers of determinants, and access and quality of care.
- The state should prohibit and eliminate discrimination using affirmative action, such as disabled carparks.
- The RTH framework focusses on govt. accountability for this.
What does the enforcement of the Right to Health depend on?
Political, legislative and judicial action on a national scale
How does the NZ code of health and disability service consumers agreement protect the RTH?
- Outlines 10 rights for consumers, including freedom from discrimination and treatment of an appropriate standard
- It aligns with the human rights act
How does the NZ Health and Disability Act protect the RTH?
- Has ‘reducing inequalities’ as a purpose
- DHB system to foster community participation
- TOW clause states nobody shall be given special privileges based on race.
- The reduction of inequalities is reflected in the NZ health strategy/disability strategy, and He Korowai Oranga.
How does the TOW protect the RTH?
- Affirms indigenous rights
- It provides a framework (albeit with different strengths and weaknesses)
- Ensures good governance
- Promises active protection of Maori
- Health is outlined as a Maori taonga (treasure)
- Inequities in health breach this.
What is stated in the UN rights of the indigenous peoples which reinforces the RTH?
- Everyone has human rights, but indigenous people often struggle to fully recognize them
- Wants to facilitate realization of rights and stronger relationships between indigenous and colonizers.
What are the instruments for the RTH?
- Declaration of human rights
- ICESCR
- International rights conventions
- Indigenous rights (TOW, UN)
- NZ legislation and policies (NZPHDS, Patient rights)
What are the two main downsides of DALYs?
- They can be stigmatising as they represent those who are disabled as a burden
- The weight of a disability is purely based on medicine, so doesn’t account for a person’s life circumstances
What is the medical model of disability?
- Used by the GBD Project
- Disabled are defined by their illness
- Disability is an individual problem
- Disabled person must be cared for/cured
- Justifies their exclusion
- Control is with professionals, who decide the disabled person’s choices
- Patronizing approach, focussed on what they CAN’T do
What is the social model of disability?
- Disability is a societal problem
- Caused by policies, practices, attitudes, environments
- Disabling factor is the surroundings, not the person
- Focusses on ridding society of barriers, not cure
- Right to Health approach
What is the social gradient (caused by), according to WHO?
- Caused by unequal distribution of power and resources globally and nationally
- Results in unfairness in life circumstances
- Not a natural phenomenon but product of structural determinants of health and conditions of daily life.