Public Health (Mon 16th)

Question 1

What is public health?

Answer 1

Public health is preventing illness, promoting health in populations.

Question 2

What is epidemiology?

Answer 2

Using data from large populations to study disease patterns. For example association and casual patterns between smoking and lung cancer.

Question 3

What are prevalence rates?

Answer 3

Proportion of population with disease (like no. of cases per 1000 people)

Question 4

What are incidence rates?

Answer 4

New cases during specific time.

Question 5

What is distribution?

Answer 5

How a disease is spread out between different sub populations.

Question 6

What explanations are there for social inequality?

Answer 6

1) Behavioural/cultural model: differences in health related behaviour, like smoking due to cultural acceptance.
2) Economic/ Materialist Approach: If on lower income, less access to services.
3) Psycho-social. A: the bio consequences of how inequality makes people feel inferior and stressed.
4) Life course. A: combines all other explanations and adds all risks together.
5) Political Economy. A: how political choices cause health divides.