Public Health Revision

Question 1

Health definition

Answer 1

A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Question 2

Why do more unequal societies have worse health?

Answer 2

It is the extent of income division within a society that determines population health

Question 3

Social class definition

Answer 3

A measure of occupation, stratification, social position and access to power and resources

Question 4

How can social class be quantified?

Answer 4

the Registrar General’s model (occupation focused) or the NS-SEC model

Question 5

The inverse care law

Answer 5

the availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the need for it within a population

Question 6

Incidence

Answer 6

The number of new cases per unit time (can be expressed as a percentage or per e.g. 100,000)

Question 7

How can incidence be increased

Answer 7

by screening and identifying new cases or by increasing risk factors

Question 8

How can incidence be reduced

Answer 8

by decreasing risk factors eg. primary preventions

Question 9

Prevalence

Answer 9

the number of existing cases at a particular point in time. proportion of population affected. (percentage or rate)

Question 10

How is prevalence increased

Answer 10

people can only leave prevalence pool if they are cured or die. Screening programs identifying new cases, increasing risk factors and increased life expectancy increase prevalence