Public Health Foundations and Population Health (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on public health and population health.

Public health

Societal-level actions aimed at preventing disease and promoting health by creating conditions for healthy living; focused on populations rather than individuals.

Population health

Health outcomes of a group and the distribution of those outcomes across that group; influenced by policies, resources, and interventions at multiple levels.

Collective action

Coordinated society-wide efforts (policies, programs, resources) to shape population health, beyond simply adding individual actions.

Population vs clinical medicine

Public health targets population-level health and risk-factor distributions; clinical medicine addresses individual diagnosis and treatment.

Upstream determinants

Structural and societal factors (income, housing, education, environment) that influence health before disease occurs.

Social determinants of health

Conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age that shape health outcomes and inequities.

Fundamental causes

Bruce Link and colleagues’ idea that social conditions with access to resources drive disease distributions across populations.

Sick individuals and sick populations

Jeffrey Rose’s concept that factors causing illness differ between individuals and populations; policy aims to shift population health curves.

Embodiment

Process by which social and economic conditions become physical health outcomes in the body.

Risk factor

A trait or exposure that increases the likelihood of a disease; its population distribution informs prevention strategies.

High-risk strategy

Interventions targeting those at highest risk; efficient for individuals but may leave overall population risk unchanged.

Population strategy

Interventions designed to shift the entire distribution of risk factors in a population, reducing overall disease rates.

Obesity as disease

Classification of obesity as a disease by the ICD, enabling insurance coding and guiding population health actions.

Healthy city

Concept of a city designed to promote health, with debate over precise definition; includes environment, resources, equity, and well-being.

Paternalism in public health

Government actions restricting individual choice to protect public health; raises questions about autonomy and rights.

Health equity

Fair and just access to the resources and conditions needed for health, aiming to reduce avoidable disparities.

Health as a human right

The principle that everyone should have equal access to health and the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life.

Climate change and health

Climate change as a global public health problem requiring coordinated, equitable action.

Maternal mortality disparities

Higher maternal mortality and adverse birth outcomes among women of color compared with White women, signaling inequities in care.

Health literacy

Ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make informed health decisions.

Upstream vs downstream

Upstream factors are social and structural determinants; downstream outcomes are disease and care within individuals.

Surveillance and monitoring

Systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of health data to detect problems and guide interventions.

Primary prevention

Actions that prevent disease from occurring, such as vaccination and health promotion.

Secondary prevention

Early disease detection and treatment to prevent progression, such as screening programs.

Health care bankruptcy

Healthcare costs are a major source of financial bankruptcy, reflecting inequities in access and resources.