Public Health Flashcards
What are the main components of air pollution?
Describe how aerodynamic diameter affects particulate matter toxicity
What are some respiratory system effects linked to air pollution?
Short-term effects:
• ↑ respiratory-related mortality rate
• ↑ mortality (all causes and respiratory) rate for COPD patients
• Worsening of symptoms, reduction in lung function in COPD and asthma patients
• ↑ hospitalization of COPD patients
• ↑ rate of ED visits and hospital admission for asthma exacerbation in children
Long term effects:
• ↑ cardiopulmonary mortality rate: 1.09 per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5
• ↑ lung cancer mortality rate: 1.08 per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5
• ↑ development of asthma in children< 5 years of age*
• ↓ lung function in children ➔ poorer lung development*
• ↑ rate of severe asthma exacerbation in children
• ↑ rate of lower respiratory tract infections
What are some general health issues linked to air pollution?
- Acute health effects – observable within hours / days from exposure
- Long term effects – develop over long periods (years) of exposure
- Respiratory system
- Cardio-vascular system (3.3 million deaths globally)
- Pregnancy and early development (e.g. LBW, premature labour, lung development/function)
- Cancers
- Endocrine signaling disruption (e.g. type 2 diabetes)
- Brain (e.g. neurodegeneration, neurodevelopment) – evidence emerging
What are some strategies to reduce air pollution?
How can (vulnerable) individuals can manage their health in lights of air pollution levels?
What is iatrogenic disease?
describing a condition or disease that has resulted from treatment and/or the actions of health-care professionals
What is febrile neutropenia?
is a common complication to chemotherapy (as well as other treatments and diseases/conditions), associated with increased short-term morbidity and mortality
What are some reasons for ethnic inequalities in health?
• Hereditary risk and genetic determinants for specific cancer subtypes may explain a portion of disparities.
• Lack of awareness
• Health literacy
• Cultural factors (stigma, difficulty in talking about cancer)
• Barriers to accessing health care that may limit access to cancer screening, care, and treatment
• Discrimination and bias within the healthcare system may contribute to cancer disparities.
• Communication with healthcare provider (Lack of trust, Lack of
healthcare provider recommendations)
• Disparities in exposure to risk factors, due largely to underlying social and economic inequities, drive cancer disparities.
• Current screening guidelines for some cancers may also contribute to disparities by not accounting for differences in cancer risk across communities.
• Underrepresentation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in clinical trials may contribute to cancer treatment and mortality disparities. (Not being able to identify with others (pictures of scars of white bodies, white prosthetic))
What are the social determinants of health?
What are some solutions to tackle ethnic inequalities in health?
• Train and recruit a socially responsible and culturally diverse healthcare workforce.
• Develop a culture within the NHS without racism.
• Ensure our staff are reflective of the communities we serve.
• Abandon the one size fits all approach (e.g. targeted screening)
• Acknowledge mistrust in medical research
• Encourage inclusion of ethnic minorities in clinical trials
• Dispel myths with communities about clinical trial research and educate around the basics and benefits of research
• Develop innovations in partnership with vs for patients and communities
• Patient views and experiences should be at the heart of any improvements
What is the double burden of malnutrition?
What are the determinants of weight status?
What nutritional status is each BMI?
What morbidities is obesity associated with?
• Type 2 diabetes
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease
• Asthma
• Metabolic syndrome
• Cancer (e.g. bowel, breast, endometrial)
• Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
• Gallstones
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnoea
• Liver disease
• Kidney disease
• Reduced fertility
• Pregnancy complications ( e.g. gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia)
• Depression
• Reduced mobility and activity
What is the recommended intake of fat per day?
What are the strategies to tackle obesity?
Comprehensive vs sentinel surveillance
Active vs passive surveillance
Care-based vs syndromic surveillance
Voluntary vs statutory surveillance
Where does surveillance data come from?
What are the notifiable diseases?
What is the outbreak control team?
How can you break the chain of infection?
Incubation vs latent vs infectious periods
What is the effective reproduction number (R)?
