Epidemiology, Environmental Health, and Health Indicators

Flashcards covering key terms from the lecture on environmental determinants, social determinants of health, descriptive epidemiology, and quantitative health status indicators.

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a government department that sets regulations for workplaces to reduce hazards and prevent occupational diseases and deaths.

Environment

In the epidemiological triangle model, any external factor or condition that influences the development of a disease.

Social Determinants of Health

External environmental, economic, and social conditions—such as education, access to healthcare, built environment, and social context—that influence individual and population health outcomes.

Built Environment

Human-made physical surroundings, including buildings, high-rises, housing quality, ventilation, and urban layout, that impact physical and mental health.

Food Desert

An area, often in major cities, where residents lack easy access to grocery stores with fresh fruits and vegetables, leading to reliance on convenience store foods.

Descriptive Epidemiology

A branch of epidemiology that describes disease occurrences by identifying patterns related to time (when), place (where), and person (who).

Health Status Indicators (HSIs)

Quantitative statistics and measurements used by epidemiologists to assess, monitor, and compare the public health status of different populations.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years that a specific cohort is projected to live from a particular point in time.

Cohort

A group of similar individuals, defined in life expectancy measurements by their shared year of birth.

Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

A health statistic measuring the average number of years a person or population is expected to live in good health rather than focusing solely on total lifespan.

Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)

A quantitative metric that measures the overall burden of disease by incorporating both years lived with a disabling condition and years lost due to premature death.

Burden of Disease

The overall health impact and overall weight of a specific disease on a population, commonly evaluated using DALYs.