Tulane Intro to Public Health Test 1 (Dr.
Silvestre)
3 missions in historical development of pub health - ANS-1. reactive nature of pub
health
2. pub health as form of policing/enforcement
3. pub health as proactive political vision for improvement
epidemiology - ANS--study of how disease is distributed in populations and of the
factors that influence or determine this distribution
-Basic premise is that disease and illness are not randomly distributed
-Each of us have certain characteristics that predispose us to, or protects us against, a
variety of diseases
-the application of this study to control health problems
-basic science/core discipline of public health
epidemic - ANS--when number of cases for certain disease exceeds what is expected
based on recent history
-subjective depending on disease
-when __________ covers large geographical regions it is called a pandemic
pandemic - ANS-when epidemic covers large geographic regions
public health - ANS--difficult to understand
-struggles to define what it is, its mission/activities
Winslows definition of public health - ANS--science/art of preventing disease, prolonging
life, promoting health and efficiency through organized community efforts for improving
sanitation, controlling spread of disease, educating about hygiene, organization of
services for early recognition/preventative treatment of disease, and development of
social machinery to ensure a standard of living
top 10 achievements in public health in 20th century - ANS-1. vaccination
2. motor vehicle safety
3. safer workplaces
4. control of infectious diseases
5. decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke
6. safer/healthier foods
,7. healthier mothers and babies
8. family planning
9. fluoridation of drinking water
10. recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
public health mission - ANS-according to the Institute of Medicines report "The Future of
Public Health" the __________ is the fulfillment of society interest in assuring the
conditions in which people can be healthy
population health - ANS--broader concept of public health
-the ways that society as a whole are affected by health issues and how they respond
four components
1. health issues
2. populations
3. society shared health concerns
4. societys vulnerable groups
core functions of public health - ANS--assessment
-policy development
-assurance
assessment - ANS--investigate and diagnose health problems and and health hazards
in community (hantavirus investigation)
-monitor health status to identify community health problems (disease surveillance)
policy development - ANS--inform, empower, and educate people about health issues
(public health public service announcements)
-mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems (building
coalitions to combat youth suicide)
-develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts (smoke
free policies)
assurance - ANS--enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety
(fine companies that exceed pollution standards)
-link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care
when otherwise unavailable (providing information on services to communities in
multiple languages)
-assure a competent public and personal health care workforce (licensing of
professions)
,-evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population based
health services (evaluating a program to reduce teen pregnancy)
public health and medical care are - ANS--both based on science
-assess health of population/patient
-diagnose its problems
-seeks the causes of problems
-devises strategies to cure problems
medical care - ANS--concerned with individual patients
-focuses on healing ill patients
-generally considered a more expensive way to keep people healthy
public health - ANS--concerned with community/population
-focuses on preventing illness
-has cost benefits
World Health Organizations definition of health - ANS--a state of complete physical,
mental, and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
-this definition is still vague/not relevant to states struggling to provide minimal care in
severely adverse political, economic, social, and environmental conditions
public health approach - ANS-1. define health problem
2. identify risk factors associated with problem
3. develop/test community level interventions to control/prevent cause of problem
4. implement interventions to improve health of population
5. monitor interventions to assess their effectiveness
primary intervention - ANS-prevents an illness/injury from occurring at all by preventing
the exposure to the risk factor
example- tobacco education so people don't start smoking in the first place or they quit
smoking
secondary intervention - ANS-minimize severity of illness or the damage due to the
injury causing event once it has happened
example- screening to catch illness (such as emphysema or lung cancer) at an early
stage
, tertiary intervention - ANS-minimize disability by providing medical care and
rehabilitation services
example- medical treatment of patients with smoking related illness to reduce chance of
death or disability
role of government - ANS--bears major responsibility for public health
-cant guarantee health/safety for each individual, but the role is to provide for maximum
health/safety for community as a whole
-public health activities need the involvement of __________ (at national and local
levels) since they require legislation, enforcement, and taxing powers
-provide pure water and sewage disposal
-regulations ensure food supply
-ensure quality of medical services
-laws regulating peoples behavior prevent them from injury
-immunization requirements protect from infectious disease
-sponsor research/education programs on causes/prevention of disease
non governmental role - ANS-play a huge role in public health through
-direct services provision (NOAIDS Taskforce)
-education (American Cancer Society)
-lobbying (MADD, AMA)
-research (Gates Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation)
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