Introduction to Global Health - Vocabulary Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture materials covering Noncommunicable Diseases, Women's Health, Infectious Diseases & AMR, Child & Adolescent Health, and Health Systems.

Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)

Chronic, degenerative diseases that cannot be spread by an infectious agent, last a long time, and are often disabling or fatal if not treated appropriately.

Infectivity

The proportion of exposed persons who become infected with a pathogen, which depends on the pathogen's basic reproductive rate.

Basic Reproductive Rate ($R_0$)

The average number of persons in a totally susceptible population infected by one case during that case's entire infectious period.

Zoonotic Pathogens

Infectious organisms that originate from animals, accounting for approximately 61% of currently known human pathogens.

Variolation

An early immunization practice involving inserting dried smallpox scabs into nostrils or scratching scab material from someone with mild smallpox into another person's skin.

Puerperal Sepsis

A bacterial infection of the female genital tract occurring after childbirth.

Attenuation

The process of weakening a pathogen so its disease-inducing properties are removed for safe use in vaccines, developed by Louis Pasteur.

Toxoids

Modified toxins produced by pathogenic bacteria used in inactivated vaccines, such as the tetanus vaccine.

Subunit Vaccines

Vaccines created using purified antigens or genetically engineered molecules rather than whole organisms.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

The natural or acquired ability of microbes to survive drug treatments, directly causing 1.14 million global deaths in 2021.

Perinatal Period

The first week of a child's life.

Neonatal Period

The first month (28 days) of a child's life.

Infant

A child during their first year of life.

Under-5

Children between 0 and 4 years of age.

Youth (UN Definition)

Individuals between 15 and 24 years of age.

Stunting

The failure of a child to reach linear growth potential due to inadequate nutrition or poor health.

Wasting

The failure of a child to reach appropriate weight-for-height (measured in kilograms divided by height in meters squared).

Malnutrition

A condition referring to individuals who do not get proper nutrition, whether too little, too much, or the wrong kind.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Traditional practices involving the cutting, excision, or alteration of female genital organs.

Maternal Death

The death of a female during pregnancy, childbirth, or up to 42 days postpartum.

Ethnocentrism

Viewing another culture as being like one's own.

Cultural Relativism

The concept that because cultures are unique, they can be evaluated only according to their own standards and values.

Cultural Competence

The ability to interact effectively with people within one's own culture and in other cultures.

Health System

The sum of organizations, institutions, and resources whose primary purpose is to improve health.

Primary Health Care

Essential, evidence-based, and socially acceptable healthcare universally available to communities at an affordable cost, distinct from first-level primary care.

Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

A system ensuring all people have access to quality essential healthcare services without facing financial hardship or medical debt.

Socialized Medicine

A healthcare system model characterized by public financing combined with public ownership of facilities or government employment of providers.

Task-Shifting

A workforce development strategy of training lower-level health personnel to carry out functions traditionally reserved for higher-level staff.

Governance

The management of collective affairs to ensure safety, fairness, and equal opportunity for individual members of a society.

Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

A 1995 World Trade Organization agreement establishing minimum intellectual property protection standards for member nations.

EBAIS

Community-based basic comprehensive healthcare teams operating under Costa Rica's Social Security Administration (CCSS).