Public Health Flashcards
What is bias?
- The results of a study do not represent the truth
- inherent limitation in design/conduct
- several tools to rate risk of bias in RCTs
What is imprecision?
- Focuses on 95% CI around best estimate of absolute effect
- Certainty lower if clinical decision likely to be different if true effects at upper end of CI
What is indirectness?
- Certainty highest when studies directly compare interventions of interest in relevant populations
- Report outcome critical for decision making
What is publication bias?
- missing evidence
- More common in:
-> observational data
-> commercial studies
What is inconsistency?
- Certainty of evidence highest when several studies show a consistent effect
What is primary vaccine failure?
Person doesn’t develop immunity from vaccine
What is a secondary vaccine failure?
Initially responds but protection wanes over time.
What are the symptoms of tetanus?
- Clostridium tetani bacteria
- toxins cause painful muscle contraction
What bacteria causes pertussis and the symptoms?
- Bordetella pertussis bacteria
- whooping cough
What causes polio and its symptoms?
- poliovirus
- bad water
- attacks nerves, then causes muscle wasting
What causes Haemophilus influenza type B and its symptoms?
- haemophilus influenza bacteria
- acute epiglottis –> swells up stopping you form breathing
What is meningococcal disease caused by and symptoms?
- Neisseria meningitides bacteria
- Meningococcal sepsis
What is your legal obligation as a doctor?
- to notify on infectious diseases
- to stop outbreak of disease
Why are these diseases notifiable?
- very scary
- horrible complications
- very infectious
- vaccine preventable
- need specific control measures
What is the role of surveillance with infectious diseases?
- Detection of any changes in a disease
- outbreak detection
- early warning
- forecasting - Track changes in disease
- extent and severity of disease
- risk factors - Allows development of interventions targeted at vulnerable groups
How do we protect the community?
- Investigate: contact tracing, partner notification, lookback exercises, etc…
- Identify and protect vulnerable persons: e.g. chemoprophylaxis, immunisation, isolation
- Exclude high risk persons or from high risk settings
- Educate, inform, raise awareness, health promotion
- Coordinate multi-agency responses
What are the 3 steps on route of disease transmission?
- Source
- pathway
- receptor
What to think about when someone is infected with scarlet fever?
- risk settings e.g. schools
- co-infections e.g. chickenpox
What factors to think about when someone is infected with typhoid fever?
- risk factors e.g. travel
- risk groups e.g. food handlers, health & care staff, young children, hygiene
What factors to think about when someone has Hep B?
- Risk factors e.g. travel, medical procedures, infected mothers, blood products
- Risk groups e.g. sex workers
What vaccines do you get at 8 weeks old?
- 6in1
- diptheria
- tetanus
- pertussis
- polio
- haemophilus influenza type b
- hep B - Meningococcal group B
- Rotavirus gastroenteritis
What vaccines are given at 12 weeks old?
- 6in1
- pneumococcal
- rotavirus
What vaccines are given at 12 weeks old?
- 6in1
- pneumococcal
- rotavirus
What vaccines are given at 16 weeks old?
- 6in1
- Men B