Lecture 1: Public Health and Epidemiology

public health

the general state of peoples health

-the things that people do as a society to bring about and maintain our improvement of health

IOM's The Future of Public Health (1988)

-refocused and revitalized the field on public health

-organized community efforts aimed at prevention of disease and promotion of health

assessment

policy development

assurance

what are the core functions of public health?

assessment

constitutes the diagnostic function, in which a public health agency collects, assembles, analyzes and makes available information on the health of the population

policy devlopment

like a doctors development of a treatment plan for a sick patient, involves the use of scientific knowledge to develop a strategic approach to improving the communities health

assurance

is the equivalent to the doctor's actual treatment of the patient. public health has the responsibility of assuring that the services needed for the protection of public health int eh community are available and accessible to everyone

-prevent epidemics and spread of disease

-protect against environmental hazards

-prevent injuries

-promote and encourage healthy behaviors

-respond to disasters and assist communities in recovery

- assure the quality and accessibility of services

what are the 6 purposes of public health?

1. monitor health status

2. diagnose and investigate

3. inform, educate, and empower

4. mobilize community partnerships

5. develop policies and plans

6. enforce laws and regulations

7. link people to needed personal health services

8. assure a competent workforce

9. evaluate

10. research

what are the 10 essential public health services?

individual

community

in medicine the patient is the BLANK; in public health the patient is the BLANK

cure

prevent

the goal of medicine is to BLANK; the goal of public health is to BLANK

health promotion

occurs while individuals are healthy to improve overall health, reduce risks, and increase resistance if exposed. these activities often target entire populations (non smoking)

exposure/risk factors

factors that increase the risk of a disease developing in a person or population (smoking)

disease prevention

related to exposure and risk factors; activities focus on prevention of a specific disease and target populations will consist of at-risk individuals (smoking cessation)

non modifiable: genetics

modifiable: lifestyle, job loss, poverty, mental health

what are the 2 types of risk factors?

epidemiology

the basic science of public health

-focuses on human populations

-aims to control spread of ID

-seeks causes of chronic diseases

statistics

government collects health data on the populations

-diagnostic tools for the health of the community

biomedical sciences

control of infectious diseases

-helps to better understand control of new diseases (genetics, chronic diseases)

environmental health science

study of how health is affected by exposure to environmental factors

air quality

water quality

solid and hazardous waste

safe food and drugs

global environmental change

environmental factors that affect health:

behavior

what is the leading concern of factors that affect people's health?

health administration or health policy and management

area of study that examines the role of medical care in public health

-cost is out of control in US

-define the problem

-identify risk factors

-develop and test interventions

-implement interventions

-monitor interventions

what is the public health approach?

interventions

designed to prevent undesirable health outcomes

prevention

main task is to develop interventions designed to prevent specific problems that have been identified

primordial

primary

secondary

tertiary

what are the four levels of prevention?

primordial prevention

earliest prevention modality, it is aimed at children to decrease as much risk exposure as possible

-targets underlying social conditions

primary prevention

consists of interventions aimed at susceptible population or individual

-purpose is to prevent a disease or injury from ever occurring

-limit risk exposure or increase immunity

secondary prevention

occurs in forms of screenings

-early disease detection

tertiary prevention

targets both clinical and outcome stages of diseases

-in symptomatic patients and aims to reduce severity

-aims to reduce effects of disease once established

agent

host

environment

what does the chain of causation consist of?

immunizations

health promotion and disease prevention

disease state management

covid-19 testing

HIV prevention

harm reduction strategies

med safety

intimate partner violence

mandated reporting

what are some things pharmacists do for public health?

used to need a prescription but now you don't

-pharmers educate and dispense this

medication safety with naloxone?

put a pharmer on every HIV care team

start highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) early

sparka. dialogue about HIV

3 ways a pharmer can help HIV patients

disease surveillance

a process of monitoring and reporting levels of disease activity in a community or county or at the state or national level. information is used to identify outbreaks earlier with the intention of containing and controlling the spread of disease more effectively

incidence rates

the number of new cases of a disease ina population within a specified time period

prevalence rates

the number of existing cases of a disease in a population regardless of how long individuals have been ill

reoirtable diseases / notifiable diseases

diseases usually are infectious, are monitored in a population. laboratories and health care workers who identify potential cases of reportable diseases are expected to notify the local health department

sentinel case

the first case of a disease in an outbreak. it usually refers to infectious disease. epidemiological field methods can be used to determine the sentinel case in a large outbreak

endemic

a disease that occurs in a population at a low but consistent and persistent levels so that a limited number of cases occur each year

epidemic

when a disease outbreak spreads to many individuals in one or more populations across two or more geographic areas

pandemic

a disease outbreak that involves many people and many countries around the globe