Public Health: Introduction, Controversies, Epidemiology, Infectious Disease, Diet & Physical Activity, Mental Health, Healthcare Systems

Public Health

Organized community efforts to ensure conditions for health.

Assessment

Diagnostic function of public health agencies.

Assurance

Making sure services for public health are available and accessible.

Biomedical Sciences

Study of biological basis of human health and disease.

Bioterrorism

Terrorism involving release of toxic biological agents.

Community

Specific group of people living in a defined geographic area.

Epidemiology

Study of causes and distribution of disease in human populations.

Infectious Disease

Disease caused by microorganisms that enter and multiply in the body.

Interventions

Programs or policies designed to impact a health problem.

Life Expectancy

Number of additional years of life expected at a specific point in time.

Policy Development

Use of scientific knowledge to develop public health policy.

Primary Prevention

intervening before health effects occur, through measures such as vaccinations, altering risky behaviors (poor eating habits, tobacco use), and banning substances known to be associated with a disease or health condition

Secondary Prevention

screening to identify diseases in the earliest stages, before the onset of signs and symptoms, through measures such as mammography and regular blood pressure testing

Statistics

Gathering and analyzing data to extract information and calculate probabilities.

Tertiary Prevention

Activities intended to minimize disability caused by disease or injury - —managing disease post-diagnosis to slow or stop disease progression through measures such as chemotherapy, rehabilitation, and screening for complications

Economic Impact

Total costs and benefits of a particular event or situation.

Individual Liberty

Freedom of individuals outside of government control.

Libertarian

Belief system that restricts individual rights to prevent harm to others.

Moralism

Promoting or discouraging acts based on moral beliefs.

Paternalism

Restriction of people's freedom to protect their health and safety.

Political Interference with Science

Manipulating scientific evidence to fit a political agenda.

Tragedy of the Commons

Overuse of a shared resource due to individual interests.

Chronic Disease

Long-lasting disease that is not immediately fatal.

Endemic Rate

Usual prevalence of disease within a geographic area.

Epidemic

Occurrence of a disease at a rate that exceeds the expected rate.

Epidemiological Investigation

Procedures used to identify the cause of a disease.

Epidemiologic Surveillance

Collection and analysis of health data for public health practice.

Framingham Study

Long-term cardiovascular cohort study.

Notifiable Diseases

Diseases required to be reported to public health authorities.

Risk Factors

Characteristics that increase the chance of developing a disease.

Vital Statistics

Systematically collected statistics on life, health, and disease.

Association

Relationship between two or more events or variables.

Case-Control Study

Comparison of individuals affected by a disease with a control group.

• strengths - good for diseases with long latency period

• limitations - not good for studying rare exposures

  • Reyes’s syndrome 1980

Cohort Study

Study of a group of people over time to see how diseases develop.

• strength- good for inferring causality and determing risk factors

• limitations - time consuming, costly

Common-Source Outbreak

Outbreak acquired from a single source.

Control Group

Group used for comparison in an experiment.

Determinant

Variables that influence the frequency or distribution of a disease.

Double-Blind

Neither patient nor doctor knows if patient is receiving drug or placebo.

Epidemic Curve

Plot of time trends in occurrence of a disease.

Incidence

Number of new cases occurring in a population within a given time.

Intervention Study

Study comparing the impact of an intervention on a group.

Mortality Rate

Incidence of deaths per unit of time in a population.

Odds Ratio

Measure of association between exposure and disease.

Placebo

Ineffective agent used in a control group.

Prevalence

Proportion of persons in a population with a particular disease.

Probability

Calculation of expected outcomes based on past conditions.

Propagated-Source Outbreak

Outbreak spread from person to person.

Randomized

Division of sample into comparable groups by random method.

Relative Risk

Comparison of rates using the ratio of one to the other.

Bias

Influence of irrelevant factors on a result or conclusion.

Conflict of Interest

Incompatible concerns or aims of different parties.

Confounding Variables

Factors other than the one being studied that affect a result.

Institutional Review Board

Committee that evaluates the risks and benefits of a study.

Random Variation

Successive outcomes based on chance.

Selection Bias

When treatment and control groups are sufficiently different.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS)

Health-related telephone surveys that collect state data.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

Principal agency for providing statistical information on health.

Public Health Informatics

Application of information science to public health practice.

Surveillance Systems

Collection and analysis of health-related data for public health.

United States Census

National survey providing data on population characteristics.

Aerosols

Suspension of liquid particles in the air.

Bacteria

Single-celled microorganisms that can cause disease.

Carrier State

State in which a person can transmit a disease without symptoms.

Chain of Infection

Pattern of disease transmission from person to person.

The infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host.

Contact Tracing

Locating individuals who have had contact with an infected person.

Herd Immunity

Protection provided when a majority of the population is immunized.

Immunization

Stimulating immunity to a disease through exposure to a pathogen.

Method of Transmission

Route by which a microorganism is carried from one place to another.

Parasites

Organisms that live off another organism without contributing.

Pathogen

Microorganism that causes illness.

Quarantine

Isolation of a patient to prevent them from infecting others.

Reservoir

Place where a pathogen lives and multiplies.

Susceptible Host

Member of a population at risk of becoming infected.

Vector

Animal or insect that transmits a pathogen to a human host.

Vaccination

Treatment with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease.

Viruses

Very small pathogen that reproduces inside living cells.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Severe phase of HIV infection with opportunistic infections.

Antibiotic Resistance

Ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of antibiotics.

Antibody

Protein produced by the immune system that reacts with antigens.

Directly Observed Therapy

Program where healthcare worker ensures medication is taken.

Ebola

Deadly disease with occasional outbreaks primarily in Africa.

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Diseases with increased incidence or prevalence in recent decades.

Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB)

Tuberculosis caused by bacteria resistant to effective drugs.

Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART)

Medications used to treat HIV infection.

Influenza

Infectious disease caused by a mutating virus.

Multidrug Resistance (MDR)

Resistance of microorganisms to multiple drugs.

Outbreak

Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease.

Prions

Infectious agent composed entirely of protein.

Retrovirus

Virus that uses RNA as its genetic material.

West Nile Virus

Virus transmitted by mosquitoes causing West Nile fever.

Zika Virus

Virus transmitted by mosquitoes causing mild infection in humans.

Atherosclerosis

Hardening of arteries.

Cancer

Disease characterized by uncontrolled cell division.

Cardiovascular Disease

Disease of the heart and blood vessels.

Cholesterol

Compound found in body tissues, associated with atherosclerosis.

Diabetes

Chronic disease associated with high blood sugar levels.

Hypertension

Abnormally high blood pressure.

Mutation

Change in the structure of a gene.

Anxiety

Mental illness characterized by intense fear or dread.

Disturbances of Mood

Sustained feeling of sadness or extreme fluctuations of mood.