S-task 6 Flashcards
1900 main cause of ill health + What caused old public health
Early 1900s main cause of ill health were infectious diseases caused by bacteria in the physical environment and poor working and
living conditions – high rates of infectious diseases such as polio, TB and smallpox
Governments were pressured to act in relation to these infectious diseases that were causing so many deaths particularly among children
Old public health definition
The ways in which governments (federal, state and local) monitor, regulate and promote health and
wellbeing + health status and prevent disease of entire communities and populations, not just individual patients.
Old Public Health Response
Governments established and funded:
Access to safe water
Proper sanitation and sewerage systems
Improved nutrition
Improved working conditions
Mass vaccination programs
Quarantine laws
Funding of disease campaigns
Commonwealth Department of Health
Antenatal and infant welfare services
describe the living conditions of the very poor in Australia that contributed to the introduction of the ‘old’ public health
Minimal access to clean water and sanitation facilities + little was known about good hygiene practices.
Waste littered the streets -> attracting huge numbers of rats and mice -> carried disease.
Overcrowded and poor-quality housing was common -> the quality and safety of food was poor
working conditions were dangerous.
Biomedical approach
focuses on the physical or biological aspects of disease and illness; a medical model practiced by doctors and health professionals and is associated with the diagnosis, treatment and cure of disease.
Mass immunisation programs
With the scientific discovery of vaccines, the government funding mass vaccinations was made possible:
diphtheria (1930s)
Tuberclerosis (1939)
Pertutisss/ Whooping Cough (1950s)
Tetanus + poliomyelitis (1950s)
Measles (1960s)
Covid-19 (2021-2022)
Mass immunisation programs on health status
- Reduction from infectious diseases such as smallpox, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tb, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and Covid-19
- Improved infant and child mortality rates
- Improved life expectancy
food and nutrition in 1900s
Poor hygiene and food storage -> Food often transmits bacterias, parasites, toxins and viruses
Public health campaigns for food and nutrition
The pure foods act 1905: Brought about improvements in the safety and standards of food
Dietary guidelines 1943 (US): promoted the importance of adequete consumption of 7 food groups -> influenced Australians to act similarily
Refrigeration after WWII reduced the harmful preservatives in meat curling
Late 1940-1950s: more affordable
1960’s: electronic refrigerators ->reduce food borne illness
School milk program (1950): introduced after WWI, provided milk for school children.
Link food and nutrition to respiratory diseases (Pure foods act)
Pure Foods Act 1905 – Improved food safety and standards helped reduce contamination and foodborne illnesses e.g. typhoid -> better overall health and nutrition -> stronger immune system -> indirectly lowered the risk of respiratory diseases.
Link food and nutrition to osteoporosis
School Milk Program (1950s) – Provided milk to children -> ensuring adequate calcium intake (essential for strong bones) -> preventing osteoporosis + proper heart function.
Clean water
People were provided safe water to drink
How did clean water affect health status?
Infectious diseases such as diarrhoea typhoid and cholera was reduced
Improved infant and child mortality rates
Improved life expectancy
Reduction of infectious diseases on CVD + diarhea for water
eliminate waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid -> reducing chronic inflammation + infections that could weaken the immune system + contribute to long-term health issues including CVD.
Gastrointestinal infections e.g. cholera from unsafe water -> Severe diarhea -> malnutrition weakens immune system -> increased risk of other infections e.g. tb -> Chronic inflammation -> build up plaque in blood vessels (atherclerosis) -> increase blood pressure + rate -> CVD
Benefits for biomedical approach (extends life expectancy)
It extends life expectancy: Many common causes of death in past 1900s e.g. infectious diseases like polio -> can now be treated or cured -> Extending life expectancy
Limitations for biomedical approach (Not always affordable)
Not always affordable: Not all individuals can afford the medical technologies + resources -> important factor contributing to the differences experienced in HS between population groups
Doesn’t always promote good health and wellbeing
Encourages a reliance on quick-fix solutions to health issues as the focus is on the condition itself rather than the factor that caused it -> doesn’t encourage people to be responsible for their own H & W
Biomedical limitation (Relies on professional health workers + technology -> costly)
Individuals are the focus of this approach -> Require people with specialist knowledge about the disease and treatment to adequately treat patient -> Knowledge + technology developed -> Cost of training + equipment has increased -> Some machines required for diagnosis e.g. MRI machines + Treatment e.g. robotic surgery system -> cost millions of dollars + only treat a small number of patients each day
Link food and nutrition to CVD (Dietary guidelines)
Dietary Guidelines (1943) – Promoted the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables (high in fiber + vitamin A + antioxidants) -> help lower cholesterol
+ reduce blood pressure -> prevent heart disease.
Link food and nutrition to CVD (WWII refrigeration)
Refrigeration after WWII (Late 1940s–1950s) – Reduced the need for harmful preservatives in meat curing -> healthier food consumption.
By the 1960s, electronic refrigerators -> fresh unprocessed foods more accessible ->lowering the intake of salt and unhealthy fats, both major risk factors for CVD.
CVD to not taking their own h & w in their own hands
focuses on treating the symptoms and disease rather than preventing them from occurring.
E.g. instead of addressing the lifestyle factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease (such as poor diet, lack of exercise, and smoking), it often relies on medications like statins or procedures like bypass surgery to manage the condition -> a cycle where people continue engaging in unhealthy behaviours because they believe medical treatment will fix the issue.
Examples of CVD biomedical things
- 1910: Sphygmomanometer + stethoscope -> measure blood pressure
- 1941: More x-ray techniques -> doctors can view actions of the heart using dye inserted into blood vessel
- Mid 1950’s: heart lung by-pass machine -> allowed surgeons more time to undertake complicated heart procedures
- 1967: Surgery was being used to bypass obstructions in the coronary arteries -> relieving pain + improve individuals quality of life -> reducing mortality
- 1950-1960s: Antihypertensive drugs e.g. Diuretics helped reduce mortality from cvd through management of hypertension.
Benefits of biomedical (improve quality of life+HALE)
Many chronic conditions like CVD can be managed with medication, therapy and surgery -> reducing pain + suffering
Benefits of biomedical (Funding brings about improvements in technology and research)
Without BMH -> No x-rays, antibiotics or anaesthetics + Relatively little knowledge about how to diagnose and treat illness
