Population health

Question 1

What is a population and why is it important for occupational therapists to take a population health perspective?

Answer 1

In contemporary occupational therapy practice, the ‘client’ is not limited to the individual, but can also include family members and significant others, groups and communities, organisations or populations (Occupational Therapy Board of Australia [OTBA], 2018)

To address these issues and ensure the health system is sustainable, occupational therapists across all areas of practice require a population health perspective that incorporates health promotion and illness prevention.

A population health perspective involves changing the focus of occupational therapy from individuals to populations, and implementing strategies at a local, regional and national level to enable people to increase control over (and improve) their health, and its determinants.

Question 2

What are the key differences between the biomedical model and social model of health?

Answer 2

1. According to the biomedical model, health is an individuals responsibility and refers to an objective biological state characterized by the absence of illness (Germov, 2019).
2. In contrast, the social model defines health as a social construct that is influenced by social factors including a person’s living and working condition, as well as their political and social environments.

Question 3

What are the two aims of population health?

Answer 3

1. The first aim is to understand patterns of health and disease at the community, state and national level.
2. The second aim of population health is to identify and address health inequalities to improve the health and wellbeing of the population. Health inequalities, or disparities, are observable and measurable differences in health status between population groups (AIHW, 2018)

Question 4

Which of the social determinants of health identified by Wilkinson and Marmot (2006) relate directly to human occupation?

Answer 4

1. Behaviours
2. Lifestyle

Question 5

What is Primary, secondary and tertiary levels of health prevention?

Answer 5

Firstly there are three levels of prevention:
1. Primary
2. Secondary
3. Tertiary

Primary focuses of healthy populations prior to development of risk factors and are designed to prevent any progression to a physical or mental health condition.
Secondary prevention targets populations who are ‘at risk’ because they have been exposed to risk factors or are showing early signs and symptoms of a health condition.
Tertiary prevention targets populations who have been diagnosed with an ongoing health condition or disability and refers to interventions to prevent the progression and complications of health conditions and their recurrence.