GLBH20 - Midterm Review Guide

Health

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Global Health

An area of study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide.

Medicine

The science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, as well as the promotion of health of individuals.

Public Health

The study of the health of populations, with a focus on prevention, health promotion, and population-level disease control.

Medical Anthropology

The study of the experience of illness, the social relations of sickness, and the cultural and historical conditions shaping medical practices and policies.

Health Policy

The decisions, plans, and actions undertaken to achieve specific health care goals within a society.

Health Disparity

Differences in the presence of disease, health outcomes, or access to health care between individuals or groups.

Health Inequities

Differences in health that are unnecessary, avoidable, and considered unfair or unjust.

Health Equity

Ensuring that everyone gets the care they need.

Health Equality

Ensuring that everybody gets the same level of support (financial, resource-wise).

Colonial Medicine

Field of medicine operating during imperial rule and colonization.

Tropical Medicine

Field of medicine focused on diseases typically found in tropical regions.

McKeown hypothesis

Categories of variables contributing to reduced mortality, including medical measures, reduced exposure to infection, and improved nutrition.

MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)

Eight goals focused on hunger, poverty, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, communicable diseases, environment, and global partnership.

SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)

Seventeen goals focused on various aspects of sustainable development, including poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, climate action, and peace.

HALE (Health Adjusted Life Expectancy)

The expected number of healthy years a person can expect to live.

DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Years)

The years of healthy life lost due to disability or premature death.

Prevalence

The number of people suffering from a certain health condition over a specified period.

Incidence

The rate at which new cases of a disease occur in a specified population.

Social Determinants of Health

Factors such as education, poverty, and social identity that influence health outcomes.

Health Inequity

Systematic differences in health for different groups of people that are avoidable and unfair.

Commission on Social Determinants of Health

A group focused on addressing social determinants of health and reducing health inequities.

SES Gradient

The relationship between socioeconomic status and health outcomes, with lower socioeconomic positions associated with worse health.

Stress

A major health triggering issue that can have negative impacts on physical and mental well-being.

Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH)

Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 to study the social factors that influence health outcomes and health inequities.

Social Inequities in Health

Health inequities are primarily the result of social inequities, where people's health is greatly influenced by their social and economic circumstances.

Social Gradient in Health

Health outcomes improve as one moves up the social and economic ladder, with those at the bottom experiencing the worst health.

Structural Determinants of Health

Factors like income, education, employment, and housing that play a critical role in shaping people's health outcomes and access to healthcare.

Life Course Perspective

Health is influenced by factors throughout one's life, from prenatal conditions to early childhood experiences, education, employment, and beyond.

Social Exclusion and Discrimination

Discrimination and social exclusion based on race, ethnicity, gender, and other factors contribute to health disparities by limiting access to resources and opportunities and increasing stress.

Global Health Inequities

Health inequities are a global issue that requires international efforts to address the unequal distribution of health resources and opportunities.

Governance and Policy

The importance of governance and public policy in addressing health inequities and promoting health equity and social justice.

Empowerment and Participation

The importance of empowering communities and individuals to participate in decisions that affect their health and shape policies and programs that address health disparities.

Monitoring and Research

The need for ongoing research and monitoring to understand the social determinants of health and evaluate the impact of policies and interventions.

Intersectoral Action

Collaboration and action across multiple sectors, including health, education, housing, and employment, to address health inequities.

Communicable Disease

Illnesses caused by a particular infectious agent or parasite that spreads directly or indirectly from people to people, animals to people, or people to animals.

Case

An individual with a particular disease.

Case fatality rate

The proportion of persons with a particular condition (cases) who die from that condition.

Control (disease control)

Reducing the incidence and prevalence of a disease to an acceptable level.

Elimination (of disease)

Reducing the incidence of a disease in a specific area to zero.

Eradication (of disease)

Termination of all cases of a disease and its transmission globally.

Parasite

An organism that lives in or on another organism and takes its nourishment from that organism.

Emerging infectious disease

A newly discovered disease.

Reemerging infectious disease

An existing disease that has increased in incidence, spread to new places, or has taken on new forms.

Drug resistance

The extent to which infectious or parasitic agents develop the ability to resist drug treatment.

Foodborne

Diseases transmitted through contaminated food, such as Salmonella and E. coli.

Waterborne

Diseases transmitted through contaminated water, such as Cholera and rotavirus.

Sexual or bloodborne

Diseases transmitted through sexual contact or blood, such as Hepatitis and HIV.

Vector-borne

Diseases transmitted through vectors like mosquitoes or ticks, such as Malaria and onchocerciasis.

Inhalation/Airborne

Diseases transmitted through inhalation of airborne particles, such as Tuberculosis, influenza, and meningitis.

Nontraumatic contact

Diseases transmitted through contact (no wounds) with an infected source, such as Anthrax.

Traumatic contact

Diseases transmitted through traumatic contact with an infected source, such as Rabies.

Direct costs

Costs directly associated with the treatment and management of a disease.

Indirect costs

Costs indirectly associated with a disease, such as lost days of work.

Economic costs

The overall economic impact of a disease, often measured as a percentage of GDP.

HIV/AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, a highly stigmatized condition that affects individuals' immune systems.

Malaria

A mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite, with a significant burden in Africa and children under 5 years of age.

Diarrheal Disease

The passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day, a significant cause of death and illness in low- and middle-income countries.

Neglected Tropical Diseases

A diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions, affecting the "bottom billion" and often associated with poverty and lack of access to basic resources.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

Disease of the heart or blood vessels.

Ischemic heart disease

a disturbance of the heart function due to inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle.

Stroke

sudden loss of function of the brain due to clotting or hemorrhaging.

Diabetes

An illness caused by poor control by the body of blood sugar.

Type 1 Diabetes

Autoimmune disorder that attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas which produce insulin.

Type 2 Diabetes

characterized by the inability to produce enough insulin or to efficiently use the insulin the body does make.

Gestational Diabetes

Can develop during pregnancy due to the placenta’s hormone production processes.

Cancer

The name given to a range of diseases characterized by body cells that divide without stopping and spread to surrounding tissues.

Mental and Behavioral Illness

A wide range of illnesses and mental health conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior.

Sex

Refers to biological differences (this is not strictly binary).

Gender

Refers to socially constructed and enacted roles and behaviors which occur in a historical and cultural context and vary across societies and over time.

Women’s Health

The branch of medicine that focuses on the treatment and diagnosis of diseases and conditions that affect women's physical and emotional well-being.

Gender Equality

A state in which rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for people are unaffected by gender.

Gender Equity

A type of social equity indicated by the distribution of mutable resources, socially valued goods and services, opportunities, capital, compensation and reward, or well-being in a way that is fair and just.

Gender Empowerment

“An iterative process with key components including an enabling environment that encourages popular participation in decision-making that affects the achievement of goals like poverty eradication, social integration and decent work for all as well as sustainable development” (UNSDN 2012) [United Nations Social Development Network].

Perinatal

1st week of life.

Neonatal

1st month of life.

Infant

1st year of life.

Under-5

Children 0-4 years old.

Adolescent

A person between the ages of 10 and 19.

Early adolescence

10-14.

Older adolescence

15-19.

Youth

15-24.

Young adult

20-24.

Cash Transfer Program

A program that provides financial incentives to individuals or families in need in order to reduce HIV exposures and the risks of developing AIDs .

Life course approach

Emphasizes a temporal and social perspective, looking at an individual’s or a cohort’s life experiences or across generations for clues to current patterns of health and disease, whilst recognizing that both past and present experiences are shaped by the wider social, economic, and cultural context.

Global Mental Health

A global shift from mortality to disability, with mental disorders becoming a significant burden.

LMICs

Low- and middle-income countries.

LMICs

Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Task shifting

The practice of delegating tasks from highly specialized healthcare professionals to less specialized healthcare workers

HIC

High-Income Countries

Band aid

A temporary solution that does not address the underlying problem

Indigenous/local specialists

Healthcare professionals who are native to the country or region they serve

Gaps

Discrepancies or deficiencies

KHYÂL ATTACK

A culturally resonant means of experiencing and expressing distress in local communities

Voodoo

A religion practiced in some Caribbean and African countries, often associated with spiritual beliefs and rituals

Biomedical providers

Healthcare professionals who practice Western medicine

Validated instruments

Tools or measures that have been proven to accurately assess a specific condition or concept

PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Cross-cultural comparison

Comparing different cultures to understand similarities and differences

Ethnographic validity

The extent to which research findings accurately represent the culture being studied