PLTH 302 chapter 1

What are the 3 Levels of Prevention in public health?

1) Primary (prevent onset of disease, e.g., vaccines). 2) Secondary (early detection/screening, e.g., mammograms). 3) Tertiary (reducing complications/managing existing disease, e.g., rehab).

What is the Epidemiologic Transition?

The historical shift in disease patterns from infectious/communicable diseases to chronic/non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as societies develop.

What is the Demographic Transition?

The shift from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system.

What are the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)?

The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health outcomes.

What is the difference between Morbidity and Mortality?

Morbidity refers to the presence of disease/illness in a population; Mortality refers to the occurrence of death in a population.

What is the difference between Incidence and Prevalence?

Incidence = number of NEW cases of a disease in a specific timeframe; Prevalence = total number of EXISTING (new + old) cases at a given point in time.

What is the Epidemiological Triad (Triad of Disease Cause)?

1) Agent (cause of disease) 2) Host (organism harboring disease) 3) Environment (external factors allowing transmission).

What is the difference between Epidemic, Endemic, and Pandemic?

Endemic = constant presence of disease in a area; Epidemic = sudden spike above normal baseline; Pandemic = global epidemic across multiple countries/continents.

What is the difference between Health Equity and Health Equality?

Equality = giving everyone the exact same resources; Equity = distributing resources based on specific needs so everyone can achieve the highest standard of health.

What is the Health Belief Model (HBM)?

A psychological model explaining that personal health behaviors are driven by perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy.

What is the difference between Quarantine and Isolation?

Quarantine = restricts movement of WELL people who were EXPOSED to a disease; Isolation = separates SICK/infected individuals from healthy people.

What is herd immunity?

Resistance to the spread of an infectious disease within a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune (usually via vaccination).

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid (U.S.)?

Medicare = federal program primarily for adults 65+ and certain disabled individuals; Medicaid = joint federal-state program for low-income individuals and families.

What was the Belmont Report (1979) and its 3 core ethical principles?

Ethical framework for human research. Principles: 1) Respect for Persons (autonomy/consent), 2) Beneficence (do no harm/maximize benefits), 3) Justice (fair distribution of risks/benefits).

What is the difference between an Observational study and an Experimental study?

Observational = researchers observe subjects without manipulating exposures (e.g., Cohort, Case-Control); Experimental = researchers assign exposures/interventions (e.g., Randomized Controlled Trial).

What is a Relative Risk (RR) / Risk Ratio?

A measure comparing the risk of a health event among an exposed group to the risk among an unexposed group (used in prospective cohort studies).

What is an Odds Ratio (OR)?

A measure of association between an exposure and an outcome commonly used in Case-Control retrospective studies.

What are DALYs and QALYs?

DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year) = years of healthy life lost due to premature death or disability; QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) = measure of the state of health weighted by quality of life.