S1 - Public Health Foundations

Question 1

What is the #1 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 1

Cardiovascular disease

Question 2

What is the #2 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 2

Cancer

Question 3

What is the #3 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 3

Unintentional injuries

Question 4

What is the #4 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 4

Chronic lower respiratory diseases

Question 5

What is the #5 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 5

Stroke

Question 6

What is the #6 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 6

Alzheimer’s Disease

Question 7

What is the #7 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 7

Diabetes

Question 8

What is the #8 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 8

Pneumonia and influenza

Question 9

What is the #9 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 9

Nephritis, nephrosis, and nephrotic syndrome

Question 10

What is the #10 cause of death in the U.S.?

Answer 10

Suicide

Question 11

What is the CEA Winslow definition of public health?

Answer 11

The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency…
(PrevProlProm)

Question 12

Name a few of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Answer 12

Immunizations
Motor-vehicle safety
Workplace safety
Family planning
Fluoridation of drinking water
Infectious disease control

Question 13

Describe Leavell and Clark’s Levels of Prevention (Primordial, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary).

Answer 13

Primordial - Population measures (E.g. legislation)

Primary - Addressing individual risk factors (E.g. proper nutrition)

Secondary - Screenings (E.g. pap smears)

Tertiary - Disease treatment (E.g. a type 1 diabetic receiving insulin administration)

Quaternary - Reducing over-medicalization (E.g. strict opioid administration to prevent unnecessary use)

Question 14

Define incidence rate.

Answer 14

The number of new cases of a disease over a certain period of time

Question 15

Define prevalence rate.

Answer 15

The number of existing cases within a certain window of time

Question 16

Define social determinants of health.

Answer 16

The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national and local levels. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities - the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries (WHO definition).

Question 17

What is the difference between absolute and relative poverty?

Answer 17

Absolute poverty is defined as living on less than $2 a day and refers to all individuals under this amount globally.

Relative poverty refers to the difference in wealth between an individual and those in their community (E.g. an individual that makes $40,000 per year living near an individual making $200,000 per year is relatively impoverished in comparison).

Question 18

What is the federal poverty level?

Answer 18

The recognized U.S. poverty line.

Examples:
< $12,000 per year for individuals
< $16,500 per year for a family of two
(The amount steadily increases with the size of the family)

Question 19

What is the absolute poverty level?

Answer 19

Living on less than $2 per day (1 billion individuals are in this bracket worldwide)

Question 20

What is the difference between active and passive immunity?

Answer 20

While both are forms of acquired immunity, active immunity refers to immunity in which the individual synthesizes their own antibodies. Passive immunity refers to immunity in which the individual receives pre-synthesized antibodies from an external source.

Question 21

Give an example of active natural immunity.

Answer 21

An individual gets exposed to a pathogenic antigen and begins synthesizing their own antibodies.

Question 22

Give an example of active artificial immunity.

Answer 22

Vaccination

Question 23

Give an example of passive natural immunity.

Answer 23

A mother passing her antibodies (IgA) to her baby through her breast milk

Question 24

Give an example of passive artificial immunity.

Answer 24

Lab-synthesized gammaglobulins being administered (E.g. following a hepatitis needle stick or bite by a rabid dog)

Question 25

What are live-attenuated vaccinations?

Answer 25

Vaccinations in which the pathogen in question has been weakened but not fully killed before being introduced to the patient (E.g. the Sabin polio or MMR vaccine)

Question 26

What are inactivated (killed) vaccinations?

Answer 26

Vaccinations in which the pathogen in question has been killed before being introduced to the patient (E.g. the Salk polio vaccine)

Question 27

What are component vaccinations?

Answer 27

Vaccinations in which the only a component of the pathogen in question is introduced to the patient (E.g. the pertussis portion of the DTaP vaccine)

Question 28

Define herd immunity.

Answer 28

The resistance of a group to a disease due to the overall immunity of the group (A certain percentage of the population must be vaccinated to prevent infectious disease spread. This percentage depends on the disease in question)

Question 29

Define R0

Pronounced R-naught

Answer 29

The number of people one sick individual will infect (On average)

Question 30

Describe innate immunity.

Answer 30

Nonspecific mechanisms that protect the body against disease.

Examples: Skin, hair, mucus, macrophages, neutrophils, lysozyme secretions, stomach acidity, etc.

Question 31

Describe acquired immunity.

Answer 31

Mechanisms that protect the body against specific, previously encountered antigens.

Examples: B-lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes, immunoglobulins

Question 32

T/F The MMR vaccine causes autism?

Answer 32

False

Many large, well-designed studies have found no link between MMR and autism.

Autism usually becomes apparent around the same time MMR is given—no evidence of causality.

Autism probably has multiple components, including genetics (e.g., one study found that if one identical twin had autism, the chance that the second twin had autism was greater than 90%, but with fraternal twins the chance was less than 10%).

Question 33

T/F Multiple vaccinations can overwhelm an infant’s immune system, so vaccines should be spread out on a long-term schedule.

Answer 33

False

Vaccines use only a tiny proportion of a baby’s immune system’s ability to respond; though children receive more vaccines than in the past, today’s vaccines contain fewer antigens (e.g., sugars and proteins) than previous vaccines. Smallpox vaccine alone contained 200 proteins; the 11 currently recommended
routine vaccines contain fewer than 130 immunologic components.

Delaying vaccines increases the time children will be susceptible to diseases. There is no evidence that spreading out the schedule
decreases the risk of adverse reactions.

Question 34

What is an odds ratio?

Answer 34

An odds ratio (OR) is a measure of association between an exposure and an outcome. The OR represents the odds that an outcome will occur given a particular exposure, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure.

Question 35

What type of study uses an odds ratio to report its conclusions?

Answer 35

A case-control study