HED 311 #1

What are the top 8 leading causes of death in the US?

Heart Disease, Cancer, Unintentional Injuries, Stroke, Lower Respiratory Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes, Kidney Disease.

Most causes of death are related to…

Fast food, bad diet, cigarettes, guns, car accidents, alcohol, not exercising, drug use.

Ways to Maintain Health

Eat fruits/vegetables, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, no alcohol/cell phone use while driving.

What does the phrase, “your zip code matters more than your genetic code,” mean?

Processed food companies usually have more money and can pay to be a consumer’s “major options.” If healthier/smarter options are not readily available to a population, they are not likely to go the extra mile.

What is the definition of health promotion?

Efforts to understand causes and trajectories of wellness and illness at the population level and prevent health problems.

What are the steps of health promotion?

Understanding (how is a predictor related to a health outcome?), prediction (how does a predictor predict a health outcome?), prevention (how will an affected predictor influence the health outcome?)

+ Risk Factor -> + Negative Health Outcome

EX. living in a community with a greater number of alcohol-selling outlets predicts greater alcohol consumption among adolescents

+ Risk Factor -> + Negative Health Outcome + Protective Factor

EX. Parental supervision of adolescent activities may offset the effects of deviant friendships on youth substance use

+ Promotive Factor -> - Negative Health Outcome + Positive Health Outcome

EX. Warm and trusting relationships with parents predict academic success (positively) and depressive symptoms (negatively)

The Theory of Planned Behavior

attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy -> intentions -> behavior. This theory suggests that individual behavior is driven by behavioral intentions, which are influenced by attitudes towards the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

Self-Determination Theory

a theory of motivation that emphasizes the role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in driving human behavior. It posits that people are most motivated when they feel autonomous, competent, and related to others. Large issue during COVID (mask mandates and lockdown).

Individual-Level Risk vs. Population-Level Risk

Individual-level risk focuses on the specific risks faced by individuals, while population-level risk considers the risks affecting entire groups or communities. Population-level risk is more important to consider because they make up most of the population.

Epidemiology

Assesses the burden of disease within a population. As part of this effort, a number of indices have been proposed: Years of Life Lost (YLL) = Average Life Expectancy – Age of Premature Death

Years Lost to Disability (YLD)

number of years a person has suffered with a given health problem (cancer, diabetes, back pain, et cetera).

Disability Weights

Not all diseases or conditions are equally disabling. For example, being paralyzed would have a greater impact on quality of life than back pain would. The World Health Organization developed a system for this.

Quality of Life

Used by the government to determine how to prioritize people for potential interventions (ex. a 12-year-old receiving a kidney transplant over a 75-year-old).

Health-Related Quality of Life Weight (Q)

Reflects the quality of life expected during a given year of age.

Residual Life Expectancy (L)

 the number of years someone is expected to live beyond the current year of life.

Discount Rate (r)

 the extent to which one’s life expectancy is expected to decrease based on current health conditions.

DALYs

(Disability-Adjusted Life Years) is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability, or early death.

When We Make Statements About Populations…

We refer to a randomly selected person from the population, NOT a specific person (ex. A sign says that your chances of winning a lottery ticket are 1 in 10 million, however, your ticket is 0 or 1).

The Ecological Fallacy

When we attempt to generalize population patterns to individual cases, the ecological fallacy can result and our conclusion might be wrong (ex. Can basketball prevent hurricanes?).

Simpson’s Paradox

Occurs when trends at the population level are opposite of those at the individual level. There are other explanations (ex. Cars are becoming more efficient, but gas costs more, it has to do with inflation, not gas).