Public health: IMPORTANT TERMS TO REMEMBER

vector (alive) carrier

• any agent (biological) that CARRIES a pathogen

• Ex. Ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, insects

Fomites (inanmate) oobject

• INANIMATE object that transmits or harbors a pathogen

• Ex. Tissues, doorknobs

Reservoir “multiply storage”

• where a microorganism resides, metabolizes and multiplies

• EX. HUMAN, ANIMAL, NON-LIVING

Asymptomatic carrier “no s/s”

• A PERSON who harbors the causative agent, shows no signs and symptoms but can transmit the disease

Morbidity “cases”

• Number of Disease Cases

Mortality “death”

• Number of Deaths

Infectious dx

• Diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms

Communicable dx

• Infectious disease that spreads from one host to another, either directly or indirectly

• Ex. Flu, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B

Contagious dx

• Infectious diseases that are easily spread from one person to another.

• Ex. Flu, colds, strep throat

Non-communicable dx

• Infectious diseases which do not spread from one host to another.

• Ex. Tetanus (reservoir: soil)

Nosocomial dx

• AKA: Hospital Acquired Infection

• Infections acquired during the process of receiving health care that was not present during the time of admission

• Ex. Hospital Acquired Pneumonia

Zoonotic

• Infectious disease which can be transferred from an animal reservoir to a human host

• Ex. Anthrax, Leptospirosis

Incidence rate “new”

• Number of people in a population who develop a disease during a particular time period

Prevalence rate “total”

• The TOTAL number of people in a population who develop a disease at a specified time, regardless of when it first appeared. Prevalence takes into account both old and new cases.

Sporadic

• a particular disease occurs only occasionally

• Only a few scattered cases occur within an area or population

Endemic

• A disease constantly present in a population

• A disease that normally occurs continually (at moderately regular intervals) at a relatively stable incidence within a given population or geographical area

Epidemic

• A disease occurring at a greater frequency than is usual for an area or population

Pandemic

• Worldwide spread of the disease, wherein the disease occurs simultaneously on more than one continent

Outbreak

• The sudden unexpected occurrence of a disease in a given population

• The occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy

The PLANNING (“MACRO”) LEVEL

• Focus on the well-being of the population as a whole and emphasize the assessment and prioritization of a community’s health-related needs as well as planning to address those needs

• Carried out by public health professionals with varying_ backgrounds, degrees, and interests.

The PLANNING (“MACRO”) LEVEL: action

• Identifying health-related community problems

• Setting community health priorities

• Formulating community health programs and policies

• Managing, administering, and evaluating community health- promotion programs

• Educating the community in ways that promote public health; and

• Researching, presenting, and publishing information about public health activities

Implementation (“MICRO” OR “PROVIDER”) LEVEL

• Include all the activities required to implement public health initiatives.

• Performed on a provider-to-patient or a program-to population basis.

• Actions: • Disease screening • Immunization • Counseling for at-risk populations • Tobacco-cessation programs. • Monitoring and responding to adverse drug events

Primary prevention

• Helping people maintain their health or improve the quality of their lives through a healthy lifestyle.

• Reduce the actual incidence and occurrence of diseases, injuries, and disability

Secondary prevention

• Early diagnosis and treatment of an already existing disease.

• Decreasing the severity or progression of the disease, injury, and disability)

Tertiary prevention

• Largely consists of Rehabilitation.

• Treatment to return the disease, injury, or disability to the initial or baseline state

• Usually done for chronic diseases that cannot be cured, but their progress can be retarded with maximum benefit to the patient