Social Determinants of Health and Clinical Red Flags Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering Social Determinants of Health, Indigenous health perspectives, and various clinical red flags and conditions encountered in paramedic practice.

Social Determinants of Health (SDH)

The social, economic, and environmental conditions people are born into, grow up in, live, work, and age in that influence health outcomes.

Health Inequities in Australia

Preventable differences in health outcomes between groups caused by unequal access to resources such as income, education, housing, and healthcare.

Education (as an SDH)

A key factor that improves health literacy, employment opportunities, income, and the ability to navigate health systems.

Food Insecurity

Limited access to sufficient, nutritious food, leading to malnutrition, chronic disease, and poor immune function.

Structural Conflict

Systemic policies or institutions that disadvantage certain groups, reinforcing inequity over time.

Country (Indigenous Health Context)

Deeply connected land, spirituality, and identity for Indigenous Australians, where separation harms physical and mental health.

Indigenous Knowledge and Beliefs

Frameworks that shape health understanding and trust; ignoring them can reduce engagement and medical outcomes.

Risk Mitigation (Paramedicine)

Strategies including comprehensive assessment, clear documentation, and safety-netting to reduce missed diagnoses and patient harm.

Acute Red Flags

Assessment findings including abnormal baselines, altered LOC, neurological deficit, severe pain, or circulatory compromise.

Chronic Red Flags

Persistent findings such as weight loss, appetite loss, fatigue, progressive deterioration, or a non-resolving cough.

Headache Red Flags (Physical)

Sudden severe onset, neck stiffness, fever $> 38^\text{o}\text{C}$, focal neurology, persistent vomiting, or ALOC.

Vertigo Red Flags (Central Cause)

Stroke signs, inability to walk, focal neurology, and abnormal coordination.

Cellulitis High-Risk Features

Rapid spread, location on the face or genitals, lymphangitis, hot joint, or bite wounds.

Respiratory Red Flags

\text{SpO}_2 < 94\text{%}, shock, dysrhythmia, inability to mobilise, and severe chest pain.

Paediatric Circulation Red Flags

Abnormal HR, CRT $> 3\text{\,s}$, dehydration, or no urine in $18\text{\,hours}$.

Cullen’s Sign

Bluish discoloration around the umbilicus, indicating intraperitoneal bleeding.

Grey Turner’s Sign

Bluish discoloration of the flanks, indicating retroperitoneal haemorrhage.

Rebound Tenderness

Pain upon the removal of pressure rather than application, suggesting peritoneal irritation.

Rovsing’s Sign

Pain in the Right Lower Quadrant (RLQ) when the Left Lower Quadrant (LLQ) is palpated.

McBurney’s Point Tenderness

Localised Right Lower Quadrant (RLQ) tenderness suggestive of appendicitis.

Obturator Sign

Pain with internal rotation of the hip, suggesting pelvic appendix irritation.

Pancreatitis Pathophysiology

Premature enzyme activation leading to the autodigestion of the pancreas.

Pyelonephritis

An upper Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) involving the renal pelvis and kidney tissue.

Ventilation (V)

The movement of air into and out of the alveoli.

Perfusion (Q)

Blood flow through pulmonary capillaries surrounding the alveoli.

Pulmonary Shunt

A condition where blood passes through the lungs but does not get oxygenated, leading to hypoxaemia.

Acute Cardiogenic Pulmonary Oedema (ACPO)

Rapid fluid accumulation in the lungs due to left ventricular failure.

Brain Parenchyma

Brain tissue that lacks pain receptors; headache pain originates instead from surrounding structures like cranial vessels and the dura mater.

Trigeminovascular System

The pathway transmitting pain signals from cranial vessels and the dura to the brainstem via the trigeminal nerve (CN V).

Primary Headache

A headache that is the condition itself (e.g., migraine, tension, cluster) rather than being caused by another pathology.

Sepsis

Infection plus organ dysfunction due to a dysregulated immune response.

qSOFA

A clinical tool used for identifying the severity of organ dysfunction in suspected sepsis.

Meningococcal Disease Antibiotic

Ceftriaxone $2\text{\,g}$ given IV or IM pre-hospital for suspected cases.

Syncope

Transient loss of consciousness (TLOC) due to global cerebral hypoperfusion with rapid, complete recovery.

Vasovagal (Reflex) Syncope

An autonomic imbalance involving increased vagal tone and decreased sympathetic tone, leading to bradycardia and vasodilation.

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Risk

An accessory pathway that can cause rapid tachyarrhythmias, leading to sudden syncope or collapse.