Prevention of Disease

Question 1

What is health?

Answer 1

• A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing
• Not merely absence of disease/infirmity

Question 2

How can disease be defined?

Answer 2

• Departure from health
• Verified with evidence of characteristic signs and symptoms
• Can result from various causes

Question 3

Compare and contrast illness and sickness.

Answer 3

• ILLNESS - psychological state of person who feels aware of not being well
• SICKNESS - social dysfunction of person with disease. Being defined as unhealthy by others

Question 4

Describe the healthy public policy.

Answer 4

• Involved in health promotion and disease prevention
• Focus on changing environment to make healthy choices easier
• Directing people to be aware of health consequences of decisions

Question 5

What are the core values underpinning HPP?

Answer 5

• Sustainability - no compromising ability of future generations to meet needs
• Collaboration to meet goals
• Focus on socioeconomic determinants (may require different approaches to promotion)
• EQUITY - distribution of materials

Question 6

What are the two types of responsibility for health?

Answer 6

• COLLECTIVE
• INDIVIDUAL

Question 7

What are the 3 levels of disease prevention?

Answer 7

• PRIMARY - Prevent or delay onset (POPULATION FOCUS)
• SECONDARY - Prevent or delay progression
• TERTIARY - Prevent complications/reduce disability (INDIVIDUAL FOCUS)

Question 8

What does the health belief model predict about individuals that take action?

Answer 8

WILL TAKE ACTION WHEN
- See themselves as susceptible to condition and be aware of condition
- Believe condition has serious consequences
- Believe action will minimise susceptibility/consequences
- Benefits outweigh costs/barriers

Question 9

How might the HBM be applied in HIV screening?

Answer 9

• Individuals would need to believe they are at risk of infection and consequences are serious
• Believe benefits outweigh potential costs/barriers
• Believe risk minimisation will be successful
• Become aware of risks of infection

Question 10

Describe social cognitive theory.

Answer 10

• Addresses health determinants
• Interaction between individual and environment determines behaviour e.g enforcing no-smoking policies

Question 11

Describe the transtheoretical model.

Answer 11

• Explain stages of behaviour change (occurs in steps rather than a single event)
• Influenced by different levels of motivation
• Involves contemplation of course of action followed by action followed by potential relapse/further contemplation

Question 12

How can the transtheoretical method be utilised?

Answer 12

• Strategies and what needs to be done at specific stages
• Awareness raising at the pre-contemplation stage
• Communication of benefits of change e.g success stories in contemplation stage
• Social support e.g avoiding certain stimuli in maintenance stage

Question 13

Why carry out screening?

Answer 13

• Identify individuals with disease or condition - allows better care and reduce increase in severity
• Identify risk factors - help people make informed decisions regarding tretament/prevention strategies