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Year 1 > Public Health > Flashcards

Public Health Flashcards

1
Q

Define health

A

a state of complete physical, social and mental wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

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2
Q

Define epidemiology

A

the study of the distribution and determinants of diseases among populations
concerned with frequency + pattern of health events

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3
Q

Define primary prevention

A

pre-pathologic

reduce disease incidence + prevalence

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4
Q

Define secondary prevention

A

screening + treatment

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5
Q

Define tertiary prevention

A

rehabilitation
reduce suffering
prevent complications

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6
Q

What is meant by frequency and pattern of health events?

A

frequency = number of health events (rate = with regards to size of population, allowing for comparison)

pattern = occurrence of health-related events by time, place + person

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7
Q

What is a reservoir of infection?

A

any person, animal, arthropod, plant, soil, or

substance in which the disease agent normally lives or multiplies

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8
Q

What is a transmission pathway?

A

mechanism by which a infectious agent is spread from a source (reservoir) to a susceptible individual

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9
Q

Describe 4 methods to prevent community-acquired infection

A

reduce susceptible population = immunisation

reduce infectious population = diagnosis + treatment of infected individuals

reduce person-to-person spread = handwashing, food hygiene, safe sex

preventing animal-to-human spread = pasteurise milk, killing of infected livestock, treat animals

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10
Q

What does surveillance allow us to do?

A

describe burden of disease
detect sudden changes in disease occurrence + distribution
monitor changes in disease prevalence over time
identify priorities
inform programmes + policies
evaluate prevention + control efforts
develop hypotheses + stimulate research

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11
Q

Define incidence

A

rate of occurrence of new cases

conveys info about risk of contracting disease

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12
Q

Define prevalence

A

proportion of cases in the population at a give time

indicates how widespread disease is/burden

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13
Q

Define mortality rate

A

measure of frequency of occurrence of death in a defined population during a specified interval

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14
Q

Define case fatality rate

A

measure of deaths assigned to a specific cause during a given time interval, relative to the total number of cases

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15
Q

Define outbreak

A

sudden increase in occurrences of a disease

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16
Q

Define endemic

A

habitual presence (usual occurrence) of a disease within a given geographical area

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17
Q

Define pandemic

A

an epidemic which is spreading around the world affecting many people across many countries

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18
Q

Define epidemic

A

a serious outbreak in a single population, community or region

19
Q

What is ICD?

A

international classification of diseases

20
Q

What is GBD?

A

global burden of disease

study that summarises global surveillance data

21
Q

Benefits of physical activity

A 
increased cardiovascular health
increased cognitive performance
increased bone health
reduced stress
increased confidence + self-esteem
22
Q

What are the UK guidelines for physical activity for children and adults?

A

children = active 60 mins/day
adults = active 150 mins/week moderate intensity (can talk, but not sing) OR 75 mins/week vigorous intensity (can barely talk)
adults should do physical activity to increase muscle strength at least 2x/week
limit sedentary behaviour

23
Q

What is sedentary behaviour?

A

waking behaviour where sitting/lying = dominant posture
energy expenditure very low
eg. screen time, motorised transport, sitting to work/read
can be sedentary + active, sedentary + inactive, active + not sedentary, and inactive + not sedentary

24
Q

Why should physical activity be promoted in healthcare?

A

large population reach
trusted source of health advice
primary + secondary prevention

25
Q

What is a national and global policy for physical activity?

A

national = ‘everybody active, every day’

global (WHO) = ‘more people active for a healthier world’

26
Q

What are the 5A’s of assessment + counselling?

A 
assess
advise
agree
assist
arrange
27
Q

What parts of the global action plan are relevant to physical activity?

A

action 1.4 = increase training of professionals to increase knowledge about promoting an active society
action 3.2 = strengthen patient assessment + counselling to increase physical activity

28
Q

Define health inequalities

A

unjust + avoidable differences in people’s health across the population and between specific population groups

29
Q

What are the public health england goals with respect to reducing health inequalities?

A 
strengthen impact of ill health prevention
good start in life
being in control of your life
good/fair employment
healthy standard of living
safe home + good community
30
Q

What are examples of national, regional and local strategies to reduce health inequalities?

A 
national = stoptober
regional =  UCL hospitals homelessness project
local = decrease rates of smoking in deprived areas + in pregnancy (online training for midwives)
31
Q

Define screening

A

testing people who do not suspect they have a health problem to decrease the risk of future ill health + provide info to help them make choices

32
Q

What are some examples of NHS national screening programmes?

A 
cervical cancer (smear tests)
breast cancer (mammograms)
bowel cancer
AAA
antenatal + neonatal testing
diabetic eye disease
33
Q

What is involved in a health check?

A

screening adults 40-74

screens for signs of: stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia

34
Q

What are 4 outcomes of a screening process?

A

outcome better because of early detection
outcome good but early detection made no difference
condition would have no impact, intervention unnecessary
outcome poor + early detection made no difference

35
Q

What are the components of a screening programme?

A 
register of eligible people
system of invitation + recall
screening tests
confirmation of diagnosis
treatment/interventions
information + support for patients
staff training
standards + quality assurance
36
Q

What are potential harms of screening?

A

over-diagnosis
false positive tests
false negative tests (false sense of security)
unnecessary treatment (might never have progressed to severe disease/death)
costs of screening, testing + treatment

37
Q

Define sensitivity

A

percentage of people with a disease who test positive

most important for screening

38
Q

Define specificity

A

percentage of people without disease who test negative

most important for diagnostic testing

39
Q

What are some potential sources of bias in screening evaluation?

A

healthy screening effect = those who take part tend to be healthier than those who don’t

length-time bias = disease more likely to be detected in people with longer-lasting + slowly progressive types of disease - better outcomes anyway

lead-time bias = earlier detection makes duration of survival after diagnosis longer, even if treatment is ineffective

40
Q

Give some examples of environmental hazards to health

A 
water + sanitation
chemical safety
housing
occupation
noise
transport
air quality
extreme weather events
climate change
41
Q

Give some examples of occupational hazards to health

A

risks in workplace eg. falls, chemical hazards

changes can be made eg. wet floor signs, PPE, manual handling training

42
Q

Give some exaples of transport hazards

A

speeding, collisions, carbon emissions

changes = seatbelts, drink driving laws, safe crossings, airbags

43
Q

How can climate change affect health?

A

climate change = shift in the average weather conditions of a geographical area
increase greenhouse gases, increases global warming, increases extreme weather events which can kill people or affect the ability of the health services to help (eg. floods blocking roads so ambulances cannot reach patient)

44
Q

List some notifiable diseases

A

acute meningitis, mumps, measles, COVID-19, TB, scarlet fever, acute encephalitis

Year 1 (41 decks)

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