SSCI 318 Global Health Exam 3 study guide Flashcards
What are the most important communicable diseases in terms of deaths in low- and middle-income countries? In terms of DALYs?
-lower respiratory infections(pneumonia)
-HIV/AIDS
-Tuberculosis
In what regions are the deaths from HIV/AIDS the largest, as a share of total deaths? In what regions is the incidence of malaria the highest?
Sub-Saharan Africa for both questions
What is driving the HIV epidemic in Russia? In sub-Saharan Africa?
In sub-Saharan Africa, the disease has been spread overwhelmingly through unprotected sex between men and women, especially among those engaging in high-risk behaviors, such as sex workers and their clients and men engaging in sex with multiple female partners. But in Russia, it has been injecting drug users who are HIV-positive and who share needles
What groups are especially at risk for malaria? What steps would you take to try to reduce the burden of malaria?
-people in forested areas of Southeast Asia, people in Africa, pregnant women
-Prompt treatment of those infected, based on confirmed diagnosis
-Intermittent preventive therapy for pregnant women
-Long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets for people living in malarial zones
-Indoor residual spraying of the homes of people in malarial zones
What are the most important steps that need to be taken to reduce the burden of TB? NEED MORE HERE
A vaccine for TB called Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is a standard part of the Expanded Program of Immunization for Children. The vaccine reduces severe TB in children, but because children are not important transmitters of TB and due to variable efficacy of the vaccine in different settings, the vaccine has had little impact on the overall incidence or prevalence of TB. Rather, the control of TB depends on effective treatment of active tuberculosis.
Treating active drug-susceptible TB through an organized quality-assured care program is highly cost-effective, with fairly recent studies showing the cost ranging from $5 to $50 per DALY averted in most regions. The cost of treating a TB case, in fact, is below $200 in several countries. BCG is cost-effective in reducing severe cases of childhood TB in high-prevalence settings
If relatively few people die as a direct result of parasitic diseases, why are they so important?
They cause a great amount of disability to individuals which can led to an inability to go to work, school, etc. and a diminished quality of life.
What are the concerns about drug resistance for malaria and TB? How can resistance be kept to a minimum?
There is a concern that current medicine will no longer work and we will be back to square 1 with treatment of these diseases. By taking the entire course of treatment and ensuring accurate diagnosis, resistance can be minimized.
Why is it important to develop a vaccine for HIV?
There are still more than a million new infections every year, until a vaccine can be found there is little hope for totally preventing the spreading of the virus.
What are the drivers of antimicrobial resistance? What measures could a country take to try to reduce the development of resistance?
-people not completing their treatments
-Use directly observed therapy, short course, better quality of antibiotics, better use of antibiotics
How important are noncommunicable diseases to the global burden of disease?
The burden of non-communicable diseases is larger than that of communicable diseases in every part of the world, with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa.
Why are noncommunicable diseases less important to the burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions?
The burden of communicable diseases is larger than that of noncommunicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. However, experts suggest that the burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases will equal out by 2020.
What are the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease?
unmodifiable (cannot be changed): men are more at risk than premenopausal women; family medical history; ethnicity; age
modifiable (can be changed): hypertension, tobacco use, cholesterol, obesity-> diabetes, which doubles your risk of CVD, excessive use of alcohol
social factors: poverty, stress, depression, isolation
What are the most important cancers that affect low-income countries?
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in low- and middle- income countries. Lung is the most prevalent cancer in less-developed countries, followed by breast, stomach, and liver
What are the most important risk factors for cancers?
environmental factors and standard of living; reproductive, dietary, and hormonal risk factors associated with the lifestyles of high-income countries; alcohol, tobacco, obesity, and low physical activity; risk increases with age
What factors are causing the epidemic of diabetes that is occurring worldwide?
the rise of obesity; poor diets; low amounts of physical activity.
type 1 diabetes is associated with a family history of diabetes. In addition, environmental factors, increased weight and height development, increased maternal age at birth, and exposure to some viral infections have also been linked to developing type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is also associated with a family history of diabetes. In addition, it is associated with diet and physical inactivity, obesity, insulin resistance, ancestry, and increasing age. In high-income countries, less-educated and lower-income individuals have higher rates of diabetes than better-educated and wealthier people.
Why are mental disorders so important to the burden of disease?
Together, mental and behavioral disorders cause about 7.4 percent of all DALYs in low- and middle-income countries in 2010; mental disorders often go undiagnosed and untreated.
What measures have proven effective in reducing the use of tobacco?
nstituting a “sin tax” on cigarettes; banning tobacco advertising; counseling for teens; medications that help with quitting the addiction
■ Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
■ Protect people from tobacco smoke
■ Offer help to quit tobacco use
■ Warn about the dangers of tobacco use
■ Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship
■ Raise taxes on tobacco
What evidence is developing about community-based mental health programs?
Moreover, a significant amount of the mental health care in low- and middle-income countries is offered in large psychiatric hospitals that consume an overwhelming share of the mental health budget in those countries. Yet, a range of mental disorders can be prevented and treated effectively outside such settings. In fact, the evidence is growing that for $3 to $4 per person per year, countries could provide more community-based approaches to care that would offer drug therapy combined with psychosocial support for bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia, as well as drug therapy for panic disorder.
In this light, and with increasing attention to mental disorders, in 2013 WHO published the Mental Health Action Plan, 2013–2020.66 This plan takes a comprehensive view of both needed actions and the various actors who must be involved in improving action on mental disorders, from stakeholders to government to the global community. Some of the key recommended actions in the plan are noted here:
What measures have been effective in reducing the abuse of alcohol?
policy and legislative actions; drunk driving laws; controlled advertising; tightened law enforcement
How important are injuries to the global burden of disease
Injuries are exceptionally important and are among the leading causes of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. In 2016, about 8.4 percent of total deaths worldwide, equal to about 4.6 million deaths, were due to injuries. This is fewer than the number who died of ischemic heart disease or stroke that year. However, it is more than the number of people who died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or lower respiratory infections in 2016.
What injuries cause the most deaths?
road traffic injuries or accidents the most, drowning, poisoning, and fires