Intro to Public Health Course Review

 Explain 3 different definitions of public health

o Institute of medicine, 1988; CDC mission statement, 2008; and your defintion
o Remember the P’s: prevention, protection, promotion, prolonging, product safety,
physical, social, economic environments, (big) picture, and populations
o Be able to use the p’s to form a definition of public health
o Measuring health (infant mortality)
 Describe the key features of the historical development of public health as a domain of
specialized knowledge and public policy.
o Origin of public health
o Major historical eras/key persons
 Jon Snow-father of epidemiology, determinants of a disease (risk factors)
 Pasteur- vaccine for polio
 Edward Jenner- small pox vaccine
o Why is PH important?
 Mortality and morbidity prevented
 Longer life expectancy
o Ten great achievements in PH, 1900-1999
 Vaccinations
 motor vehicle safety- seat belts, speed limits
 recognizing tobacco as a health hazard
 family planning (have benefitted from here but is still a major issue in
other countries)
 safer workplaces (8 hour work day, child labor laws)
 control of infectious disease (Ebola, the flu, malaria, west Nile virus)
 decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke
 safer and healthier foods
 healthier mothers and babies
 fluoridation of drinking water
 Explain the concepts of population health
 Describe various conceptualizations of health and health status across populations
 o How do we measure the health of the population?
o Determinants of health- risk factors and risk conditions
o Levels of prevention
 Primary- prevent the onset of illness or injury, not exposing self to risk
factors/ risk conditions
 Secondary- prevention that leads to early diagnosis and prompt treatment
of an illness or injury (early detection and diagnosis)
 Tertiary- preventive measures aimed at the rehabilitation following
significant pathogenesis
 Discuss the basic principles of epidemiology, including rates, risk factors, disease
determinants, and causation.
o What kills us? What makes us sick?
 Framingham, Massachusetts study (heart disease)
o Rates, incidence, prevalence, specific rates
o Criteria for establishing contributory cause
o Relationship between “causes” and “effects” (health outcomes)- 4 considerations
o Trends in epidemiology
o U.S. action taken to address PH problems: healthy people 2010, 2020 goals
 Explain the impact of behavior on health and identify strategies to alter behavior at the
individual and social levels
 Explain what it means to foster a healthy society both locally, globally and through a
social justice approach
o Behavioral related causes of death
 Social ecological approach
o Underlying causes of higher rates of morbidity and mortality- social determinants
 Dr. Dixon presentation
o Multi-causation disease model and socio-ecological model
o Health equity
o Potential determinants of health
 Health Promotion Areas by level
o Individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, public policy
 Health Promotion
o Broader than health education
 Health Education
o Focuses of individuals, usually embedded in promotion programs
 What is a program?
o Referred to as an intervention or treatment
o Must be well planned
o Activities or experiences target group is exposed to/participates in
o May be a single event or combination
 2 categories
o Macro level- group
o Micro Level- individual
 Community-based HPromo
o Long term approach
o Change behavior by influencing cultural norms, enhancing environmental
supports
o Mobilize community leadership, assets, and resources
o Involved all levels: family, media, schools, worksites, faith-based orgs, govt, etc.
o Must include community members at all steps
 Describe the impact and control of environmental factors on health
o How can the environment impact our health?
o Sources of toxins, including occupational exposure
o Built environment (presentation)
o Exposure concepts- parallels with infectious disease
o Historical figures
 Rachel Carson
o Current topics
 Explain the concepts of preventions, detection and control of infectious and chronic
diseases
o Routes of exposure
 Zoonotic
 o Preventing infection at the individual level and population level
o Emerging infectious diseases- where do they come from?
 Explain how “keeping the public healthy” involved various disciplines
 Explain the role of institutions in shaping health outcomes
o US healthcare system is an institution
o US health system issues
o Why does it cost so much?
o Who pays for healthcare?
o Basic understanding of Affordable Care Act
o How does health insurance work?