Public Health

Health

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

Primary Prevention

• Prevents illness from occoring at all, by preventing the risk factors 

Public Health (NIH definition)

a broad term for organized societal and institutional efforts to improve, promote, protect, and restore the health of populations through collective action.

Secondary Prevention

• Focuses on early detection and intervention to stop or slow the progression of disease 

Life Expectancy

the statistical average number of years a person is expected to live based on their birth year, age, and current mortality rates

Tertiary Prevention

• Minimize disability through diease management, care, and rehabilitation 

Morbidity

the state of having a disease, illness, or medical condition, or the total amount of disease within a specific population

Mortality

the state of being mortal, or the death rate in a specific group or population over a given time.

Incidence

the rate or frequency at which new cases of a disease, event, or condition occur in a specific population during a defined period of time.

Prevalence

the proportion of a population that has a specific disease or condition at a given time

Public Health Surveillance

the continuous, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data used to plan, implement, and evaluate public health practices

Social Determinants of Health

the non-medical conditions—such as where you live, learn, work, and age that shape your health risks and outcomes

Infectious Disease/communicable disease

illnesses caused by harmful germs, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, that enter and multiply inside the body

Noninfectious/Noncommunicable Disease

medical conditions that cannot be spread from person to person

Endemic

an area when its always present and spreads in predictable ways

Epidemic

a sudden rise or outbreak in cases of a disease in a particular location

Pandemic

when a disease outbreak spreads across many places (IE covid 19)

Epidemiology

the scientific study of how often diseases happen in different groups of people and why

Health Disparities

measurable differences in health outcomes and healthcare access between specific population groups