Session 1 Flashcards
What is the definition of public health?
Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society.
What are the 3 domains of public health in the UK?
Health protection - preventing disease.
Healthcare - prolonging life.
Health improvement - promoting health.
What are the 5 determinants of health?
Age, sex, and hereditary factor.
Lifestyle factors.
Social and community networks.
Living and working conditions.
Socioeconomics, cultural and environmental conditions.
State some socioeconomic factors.
Income.
Job status.
Education.
Family and social support.
Community safety.
What is the definition of statistics?
Statistics is the collection, presentation, description and analysis of data (sometimes themselves called ‘statistics’) which are measurable in numerical forms.
How can statistics be classified?
Descriptive - describing data.
Inferential - analysing data to enable conclusions to be drawn from the data so that predictions and decisions can be made.
How can we make inferences about an entire population?
By taking a sample.
What is the definition of epidemiology?
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including disease) in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems (including disease).
Outline some methods that can be used to carry out epidemiological investigations.
- surveillance and descriptive studies can be used to study distribution.
- analytical studies are used to study determinants.
What is descriptive epidemiology?
Sampling so that can inferences can be made about a population.
What is analytical epidemiology?
Selections so that characteristics can be compared.
Outline the different epidemiological study designs.
What is biological plausibility?
A biologically plausible mechanism strengthens the case for a causal link.
A causal link is more likely if a biologically plausible mechanism is likely or demonstrated.
What are the different populations that data can be used to show their needs for?
It can be used to show:
- Populations with age distributions.
- Fertility, birth control and longevity.
- Geriatrics; activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs).
- Life expectancy across different countries.
What is evidence-based medicine?
Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit (appraised) and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.
What does the practice of evidence-based medicine mean?
The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.
What does evidence-based medicine require?
Expertise of clinicians to see whether the medicine applies to the individual patient.
What 3 factors contribute to evidence-based medicine?
- Clinical judgement.
- Relative scientific evidence.
- Patients’ values and preferences.
Scientifically, why use EBM?
Patients are more likely to benefit, from taking the medication, than not.
It is better than alternative treatments.
What do ecological studies look at?
Looking at a population as a whole.
What are cross-sectional studies?
Collecting data at one point in time; can be descriptive or analytical.
What are case control studies?
Selecting a group of cases and controls and comparing them.
What are cohort studies?
Selecting groups based on exposures.
Outline the different research study designs and rank them in terms of the strength of the evidence they provide.
What is absolute risk?
Looking at how a drug or treatment will affect a person.
What is relative risk?
Looking at how a treatment or patient may affect a person, based on alternatives.
