The life course

Question 1

What is the life course?

Answer 1

A sequence of socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time.

Question 2

What factors influence the life course?

Answer 2

Social class
Gender
Ethnicity

Question 3

What are the stages of the life course?

Answer 3

Antenatal 
Baby and pre-school 
School age 
Adolescence 
Young adult 
Mature adult 
Older adult

Question 4

What is the aim of public health?

Answer 4

To improve the health and wellbeing of communities by identifying the risks that affect different people in different places at different stages of life.

Question 5

What are the 3 P’s of public health?

Answer 5

Health promotion
Health prevention
Health protection

Question 6

What are ACE’s?

Answer 6

Traumatic events occurring before age 18.

Question 7

What are the types of ACE’s?

Answer 7

All types of abuse and neglect 
Parental mental illness 
Substance use
Divorce 
Incarceration 
Domestic violence

Question 8

How do ACE’s impact the life course?

Answer 8

Disrupted nervous, hormonal and immune development.

Social, emotional and learning problems.

Adopt health harming behaviours and crime.

Non-communicable disease, disability, social problems, low productivity.

Early death.

Question 9

What are protective factors across the life course?

Answer 9

Having a health and balanced diet.

An environment that enables physical activity.

Good educational attainment.

Being stable in employment with a good income.

Living in good quality housing.

Having networks of support including friends and family.

Question 10

What are some risk factors across the life course?

Answer 10

Smoking.

ACE’s.

Crime and violence.

Drug and alcohol misuse.

Poor educational attainment.

Poor mental health.