Week 1

Question 1

What is public health?

Answer 1

science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, promoting physical health through organized community efforts; ensures every individual in the community a standard of living

Question 2

What kind of prevention does public health emphasize?

Answer 2

primary prevention- looking at root causes and stopping harm before it occurs

Question 3

On what scale does public health address?

Answer 3

entire population and disparities in health between groups

Question 4

what are 2 areas of emphasis in public health?

Answer 4

prevention of disease & health needs of population as a whole

Question 5

what kind of function does public health have?

Answer 5

regulatory function- protect public from variety of hazards like unsafe food, dirty drinking water, diseases

Question 6

Why are modifications in strategies used to address issues are needed and necessary?

Answer 6

priority populations

Question 7

What are priority populations?

Answer 7

specific populations where evidence points to health inequities or where sub group of population is disadvantaged for health outcomes

Question 8

What is public health dominated by?

Answer 8

infectious diseases-> chronic diseases

Question 9

Give an example of public health at each level

Answer 9

global- United nations
provincial- Public health Ontario, Ministry of Health
Local- Toronto Public Health

Question 10

What are the characteristics of chronic disease?

Answer 10

• not communicable
• developed over period of time due to (non)/modifiable risk factors
• many shared risk factors
• long duration

Question 11

What are risk factors?

Answer 11

dealing with causes to prevent disease and injury

Question 12

What are examples of health risks?

Answer 12

-poor diet, sedentary lifestyle increase risk of chronic disease
- poor pay, insecure, temporary work increase risk of depression

Question 13

What are modifiable risk factors?

Answer 13

behaviors and exposures that can raise or lower a person’s risk of disease/injury; can be changed
eg. alcohol consumption

Question 14

What are non-modifiable risk factors?

Answer 14

factors not within someone’s control
eg. age, gender, genetics

Question 15

What are examples of underlying determinants?

Answer 15

• globalization
  -urbanization
  -food security
• climate change

Question 16

What potentially contributes to unhealthy diets?

Answer 16

• easy access to diets high in total energy, fat, salt, sugar
• well funded production, promo marketing of highly processed foods
• shift from plant based to animal based diets (globally)

Question 17

What are potential contributors of sedentary lifestyles?

Answer 17

• decreased amount of leisure time, need for physical transportation, need for commuting (remote work)

Question 18

What are potential contributors of tobacco use?

Answer 18

• social norms/peer pressure
• stress relief
• intensive industry interference and marketing to children in low and middle income countries

Question 19

What are potential contributors to harmful alcohol use?

Answer 19

• social norms/peer pressure
• stress
• combines impact of smoking and drinking
• disadvantaged and vulnerable populations

Question 20

What is the main focus on the spectrum of health?

Answer 20

prevention ( at risk population)

Question 21

what are the components of the spectrum of health?

Answer 21

promotion, prevention, early intervention, treatment/palliative care

Question 22

how do we intervene to address these risk factors in public health?

Answer 22

employ population strategies and individual interventions

Question 23

What are the points of intervention in Public Health?

Answer 23

Upstream, midstream, downstream

Question 24

What does each point of intervention deal with?

Answer 24

upstream- healthy public policy eg. menu labelling

midstream- prevention
eg. media campaigns-FV intake

downstream- treatment
eg. glucose monitoring

Question 25

what is policy?

Answer 25

specific collection of decisions with related actions, established by government and supported by legislation, which address a nutrition or food problem(s)
- should include understanding of how to translate policy decisions into effective program