Public Health Flashcards
what is health psychology?
emphasises the role of psychological factors in the cause, progression and consequences of health and illness
What are health behaviours?
a behaviour aimed to prevent disease - eg eating healthy
What is illness behaviour?
a behaviour aimed to seek remedy - eg going to doctor
what is the sick roll and sick role behaviour?
the sick role allows legitimate deviance from social obligation however the sick person is obliged to try to get well and seek help and co-operate with medical professionals
what is unrealistic optimism?
Individuals continue to practice health damaging behaviour
due to inaccurate perceptions of risk and susceptibility
What is health needs assessment?
a systematic method for reviewing the health issues facing a population, leading to agreed priorities and resource allocation that will improve health and reduce inequalities
can be acarried out for populations, conditions or interventions
assesses need, supply and demand
what is felt need?
individual perceptions of variation from normal health
what is expressed need?
individual seeks help to overcome variation in normal health (demand)
What is normative need?
professional defines intervention appropriate for the expressed need
what is comparative need?
Weighing up between severity, range of interventions and cost when assessing a patients need for an intervention and what intervention to give
what is the definition of need in a health needs assessment?
ability to benefit from an intervention
What are 4 categories of determinants of health?
Genes
Environment - physical or social and economical
lifestyle
healthcare
What is primary prevention?
prevention before it starts - eg vaccination
what is secondary prevention?
screening
rehabilitation/prevention of secondary disease events
what is tertiary prevention?
stopping the progression and complications of a disease
What is horizontal equity?
Equal treatment for equal need
Individuals with pneumonia (with all other things being equal) should be treated equally
what is vertical equity?
Unequal treatment for unequal need
e.g. Individuals with common cold vs pneumonia need unequal treatment
what is health improvement?
Concerned with societal interventions (not primarily delivered through health services) aimed at preventing disease, promoting health, and reducing inequalities
what is health protection?
Concerned with measures to control infectious disease risks and
environmental hazards
What is healthcare?
Concerned with the organisation and delivery of safe, high quality services for prevention, treatment, and care
What is the epidemiological approach to a health care needs assessment?
define problem
size of problem
services available
evidence base - effectiveness and cost
models of care
existing services
recommendations
looks at data to assess healthcare needs
What are the problems with the epidemiological approach to a health care needs assessment?
data might not be available
variable data quality
evidence base may be inadequate
does not condiser felt needs of people affected and what they want
What are the advantages with the epidemiological approach to a health care needs assessment?
uses existing data
provides data on disease
incidence/mortality/morbidity are considered
can evaluate service by trends over time
what is the comparative approach to health care needs assessment?
compare services received by different populations in different places or categories
disadvantages of the comparative approach to a health care needs assessment?
May be difficult to find comparable population
Data may not be available/high quality data
May not yield what the most appropriate level (e.g. of provision or utilisation) should be
what are the advantages of comparative approach to health care need assessment?
Quick and cheap if data available
Indicates whether health or services provision is better/worse than comparable areas (gives a measure of relative performance)
what is the corporate approach to health needs assessment?
the process of gathering information on a specific population from the population itself e.g employees or patients, in order to decide where to invest to improve health and wellbeing
what is the corporate approach to health needs assessment?
Ask local population what needs are
Use focus groups
Wide variety of stakeholders
what are the advantages of the corportate approach to health needs assessment?
Based on the felt and expressed needs of the population in question
Recognises the detailed knowledge and experience of those working with the population
Takes into account wide range of views
What are the disadvantages of the corporate approach to health care assessment?
Difficult to distinguish ‘need’ from ‘demand’
Groups may have vested interests - big pharma, politics, press
May be influenced by political agendas
dominant personalities may have excess influence
What is length time bias?
Type of bias resulting from differences in the length of time taken for a condition to progress to severe effects, that may affect the apparent efficacy of a screening method
what is the health belief model of behavioural change?
individuals will change if they believe they are
1. susceptible to a condition
2. believe it has serious consequences
3. believe taking action reduces risk
4. believe that benefits outweigh costs
what are the problems with the health belief model of behavioural change?
Doesnt consider influence of emotions
Doesnt differentiate between first time and repeat behaviour (relapse)
Cues to action often missing in research
what is the theory of planned behaviour model of behavioural change?
proposes best predictor of behaviour is intention
What is the transtheoretical (stages of change) model of behavioural change?
precontemplation
contemplation
preparation
action
maintenance
relapse
What is intention determined by in the theory of planned behaviour model of change?
a persons attitude
subjective norm - perceived social pressure
perceived behavioural control - a persons perceived ability to perform an action
what are some problems with the transtheoretical model of behavioural change?
not always linear in reality
doenst take habit, emotions or culture into account
intentions can change over a very short time
what is nudge theory of behavioural change?
the environment is changed to make the best option the easiest
which opiod is safe in renal failure?
fentanyl
What are health inequalitites?
preventable unfair and unjust differences in health status between groups due to inequal distribution of socioeconomic conditions in society
What is the inverse care law?
the principle that that availability of good medical or social care is inverse to the need of the populations served
What are Maxwell’s dimensions of quality?
3As and 3Es
Acceptability
Accessibility
Appropriateness (relevance)
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Equity
What is the donabedian framework for health service evaluation?
Structure
Process
Outcome
What is meant by structure in the donabedian framework for health services evaluation?
what is there? - buildings, staff, equipment
No. ICU beds per 1000 people
No. vasc surgons per 1000 people
What is meant by Process in the donabeidian framework for health services evaluation?
what is currently done
What is outcome in the donabedian frame work for health services evaluation?
outcomes - mortality, morbidity, QOL, patient satisfaction - what can be measured to evaluate services