(Week 7) [T11] Public Health Informatics

Question 1

Complete the following sections about Public Health.

Definition: [1].
Emphasis: [2].
Intervention: [3].
Approach: [4].
Core functions: [5].
Factors affecting: [6].

Answer 1

[1] “the art and science of preventing disease and promoting health, through the organized efforts of society”.

[2] population (not individual), prevention (not treatment), public administration.

[3] legislative, use of authority.

[4]
1. Surveillance (what is the problem?);
2. Risk identification (what is the cause?);
3. Intervention evaluation (what is the solution?);
4. Implementation (how do you do it?).

[5]
a) Assessment. Knowing what needs to be done;
b) Policy development. Actions for improving health levels;
c) Assurance. Assure that services necessary to achieve are provided.

[6] demographic, geographic, environmental.

Question 2

What is surveillence?

Answer 2

Analysis and dissemination of data on health conditions (e.g., breast cancer) + threats to health (e.g., smoking).

Question 3

Complete the following sections about Public Health Informatics (PHI).

Definition: [1].
Complexity: [2].
High impact: [3].

Answer 3

[1] “the application technology to public health practice”.

[2] multiplicity of organizations, legal issues, communication (number of languages).

[3] disease prevention, medical errors avoidance, savings.

Question 4

What are the characteristics of Public Health Information Systems?

Answer 4

• Optimized for retrieval of patterns.
• Very high heterogeneity.
• Data anonymization required.

Question 5

What is epidemiology?

Answer 5

Study of the prevalence of disease in populations.
Contains aggregated data (data warehouses).

Question 6

What is Public Health Genomics?

Answer 6

“The study and application of knowledge about all the elements of the human genome and their functions, including their interactions with their environment, in relation to health and disease in populations”.