chapter one Practice Flashcards: Overview of Health Policy

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental concepts, definitions, and types of health policy as presented in Chapter 1.

Health (WHO 1946)

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Physical Health Measures

Metrics used to evaluate physical status, including life expectancy, mortality, morbidity, disability, and quality of life.

Mental Health Spending

The proportion of all healthcare spending dedicated to mental health, which is estimated at $5.5\%$.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A measure of social well-being derived from income, education, and occupational status.

Public Health (Winslow 1920)

The science and the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts.

Population Health Model

A framework that seeks to explain and intervene in the causes of systematic differences in health between different groups by analyzing patterns of health and identifying upstream root causes.

Health Policy

The aggregate of principles, stated or unstated, that characterize the distribution of resources, services, and political influences that impact the health of the population.

Market Approach

A foundational value where healthcare is distributed based on a person’s willingness to pay.

Social Justice Approach

A foundational value where healthcare care is allocated according to need rather than the ability to pay.

Determinants of Health Domains

Five categories influencing health: social and economic environment, physical environment, genetics and epigenetics, medical care, and health-related behaviors.

Epigenetics

The study of gene–environment interactions as a determinant of health.

Reverse Causality

A phenomenon where health status influences its own determinants, such as an illness leading to a decrease in income.

Regulatory Policy

Health policy that seeks to control behavior by monitoring activities and sanctioning non-compliance, such as public smoking bans or FDA oversight.

Allocative Policy

Health policy involving the provision of income, services, or goods to certain individuals, groups, or institutions.

Distributive Policy

A type of allocative policy where benefits are provided for all, such as funding research or public health promotion.

Redistributive Policy

A type of allocative policy that takes resources or power from one group and gives it to another, for example, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

Broad Determinants of Health Policy

High-level factors including the nature of the health problem (magnitude and severity), sociocultural norms, and the political system.

Narrow Determinants of Health Policy

Specific factors including potential solutions, stakeholder efforts, leadership of policymakers, and the availability of financial and administrative resources.

Stakeholders

Entities or individuals, such as consumers, providers, and insurers, who have a direct or indirect role in the development, implementation, or modification of health policy.

Interest Group (NGO)

Individuals or entities that nominally present a unified position on their preferences regarding a health problem or its solution, often engaging in lobbying.