Public Health Terms Flashcards
Define disease
A pathological condition within the body (objective and demonstrable, fits with the “body as machine” model)
What is epidemiology?
Study of frequency, distribution and determinants of disease in population
What is the incidence rate?
Number of NEW cases of disease occurring in a population during a specific period of time
divided by
number of persons exposed to risk of developing the disease during that period of time
How is the prevalence rate calculated?
Number of cases of a disease present in a population at a specific point in time
divided by
number of persons at risk of having the disease at that point in time
What is prevention of disease?
Activity with the aim of preventing disease or detecting it at an asymptomatic stage
What is primary prevention?
Stopping a disease before it starts
What is secondary prevention?
Stopping a disease from being as bad as it could be
What is tertiary prevention?
Stopping later complications from developing
Define sensitivity
Test true positives/true positives
proportion of those who have the disease who are correctly identified by a +ve test
Define specificity
Test true negatives/true negatives
proportion of those who do not have the disease who are correctly identified by a -ve test
Define yield
Number of previously undiagnosed cases picked up y a screening test or programme
What is health literacy?
Ability to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health
Define illness.
Experience of discomfort and suffering (subjective + depends on the individual concerned, their psychological and social situation)
What is a positive predictive value?
Test true positives/true positives
proportion of those who test positive who actually have the disease
What is a negative predictive value?
Test true negatives/true negatives
proportion of those who test negative who actually do not have the disease
