Public Health Flashcards
What do the international health regulation (IHR) do?
Help prevent the spread of disease across borders
Outline the minimum requirements for a functional public health system that allows countries to quickly detect disease and respond to outbreaks in their communities
International legal instrument - binding on 194 countries
Countries must quickly notify WHO of public health emergencies of international concern
WHO quickly guide a coordinated global response to minimise unnecessary interference on travel and trade
What is a public health emergency of international concern?
An extraordinary event that may constitute a public health risk to other countries through international spread of disease and may require and international coordinated response.
What are the 4 decision criteria used to determine if an event is a public health emergency of international concern?
- Is the public health impact of this event potentially serious?
- Is the event unusual or unexpected?
- Is there potential for international spread?
- Is there the potential for travel and trade restrictions?
If 2 are met the WHO must be notified in 24 hours.
Must always report SARS, Smallpox, new Influenza viruses and Wild-type polio
What is disease surveillance?
A systematic process of:
- collecting and collating data
- analysing data
- interpreting the results
- feedback to those who need to take action
INFORMATION FOR ACTION
Why is surveillance important?
- Enables timely public health action for sporadic disease, eg contact
testing. - Detection of outbreaks/cluster
- Monitor trends in disease
- Estimate the magnitude of the problem
- Monster and evaluate prevention and control programmes
- Feeds into policy decisions and planning
What do the health protection regulations of 2010 involve?
Registered medical professionals must notify the proper officer of the local authority if a patient has:
- a notifiable disease
- an infection that could present significant harm
- is contaminated
- died with a disease or infection that could present significant harm
Diagnostic laboratories must notify PHE if there is evidence infection has been caused by specific agents.
How are surveillance systems evaluated?
They must be:
- simple (easy to access by various users)
- flexible (readily adaptable)
- of high enough data quality and consistency
- accessible (non-intrusive means of obtaining data that is useful and
perceived as a wise investment)
- sensitive (angle to detect outbreaks)
- have a high predictive value (likelihood that alerts represent events we
are seeking to detect)
- representative (is it representative of the health of the populations?)
- timely (does the system provide data that allows timely investigation
and effective intervention?)
- stabile (assurance that trends reflect health/illness and not changes in
how data is collected/managed)
What s an outbreak and a cluster?
When there are more cases of a particular disease than are expected in a given area or in a given group of people over a particular period of time.
OR
One case of a serious/rare disease
A cluster is an aggregation of cases in a given area over a particular period of time, regardless of whether the number of cases is more than expected.
What are the steps in outbreak investigation?
- verify diagnosis
- confirm the outbreak
- define a case
- conduct case finding
- descriptive epidemiology
- formulate and test hypotheses
- analytical epidemiology
- microbiological and environmental investigation
- implement and evaluate control measures
- communicate findings
May be taken simultaneously or be repeated upon presentation of new information
How much does the NHS cost per year?
£123.7 billion in 2017/2018
What is The King’s Fund?
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What is health economics?
Study of the allocation of scarce recorders applied to the healthcare setting.
Economic evaluation: the comparative analysis of alternate courses of action both in terms of their cost and consiquences - DRUMMOND 1997
What are the three points of prevention?
Primary prevention
- stopping a disease from occurring
Secondary prevention
- detecting a disease early to allow early intervention and reduce
mortality and morbidity
Tertiary prevention
- stopping recurrence of complications of a disease
What is the prevention paradox by Rose 1981?
A preventative measure that brings large benefits to the community but offers little to each participating individual.
How does the WHO define health (1948)?
A state of complete social mental and physical wellness and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
