Chapter 3 - Public Health

Question 1

What are the major causes of unintentional injuries?

Answer 1

Poisoning, motor vehicle collision, falls, choking and suffocation, drowning

Question 2

What is public health?

Answer 2

The practice of preventing disease and promoting good health within groups of people

Question 3

How do public health professionals determine the best use of health resources?

Answer 3

By examining the overall needs of the population at large

Question 4

What is the third leading cause of death for all age groups?

Answer 4

Injury

Question 5

What is primary prevention?

Answer 5

Actions that stop injuries or illnesses before they begin

Question 6

What is secondary prevention?

Answer 6

Measures that take place after a patient has sustained an injury or developed an illness, in which case the goal is to “prevent” the problem from getting worse

Question 7

What is surveillance in prevention?

Answer 7

Watching over society, and collecting and analyzing data

Question 8

What is morbidity?

Answer 8

The number of nonfatal injuries and subsequent disability

Question 9

What are the Haddon matrix and syndromic surveillance system?

Answer 9

The Haddon matrix is a tool that encourages creative thinking in understanding the causes of and potential interventions for injury. In a syndromic surveillance system, information regarding the number and nature of medical cases is compared with an expected volume of calls for the community at a given time

Question 10

What are the five steps to developing a prevention program?

Answer 10

Identify the problem, identify the risk factors and causes, develop and test interventions, implement the interventions, evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions

Question 11

What is the definition of risk factors?

Answer 11

Characteristics that increase the likelihood that a person will suffer a particular disease or injury

Question 12

What is the societal cost of injuries measured by?

Answer 12

Years of potential life lost (YPLL)

Question 13

What is a teachable moment in EMS?

Answer 13

It is the time immediately following an event, when the sense of distress and danger is still very real and everyone concerned is perhaps more receptive

Question 14

What are passive interventions in injury prevention?

Answer 14

They include such things as the use of sprinkler systems in commercial buildings, airbags in automobiles, etc.

Question 15

What is the concept of the “4 Es of prevention”?

Answer 15

It refers to combining education with three other types of interventions: enforcement, engineering/environment, and economic incentives

Question 16

What are the major public health laws, regulations, and guidelines in place in the United States?

Answer 16

They include the Affordable Care Act, Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), among others

Question 17

How can EMS providers promote public health?

Answer 17

By identifying and treating treatable causes that will lead to shock and death

Question 18

What are the principles of injury prevention?

Answer 18

They include education, enforcement, engineering/environment, and economic incentives

Question 19

Why are children more vulnerable to injuries than adults?

Answer 19

Because they have thinner skin, a smaller airway, a larger head in proportion to their bodies, and lesser ability to protect themselves from harm

Question 20

What is mortality?

Answer 20

Death rate

Question 21

What is the relevance of injury surveillance in EMS?

Answer 21

It allows EMS providers to detect patterns of injury and illness, and to respond appropriately

Question 22

What are the major effects of injuries as related to public health?

Answer 22

They include morbidity, mortality, and societal cost

Question 23

What is the role of EMS providers in promoting public health?

Answer 23

They see citizens in their homes and environments and during activities of daily life, providing them with more opportunities to promote public health

Question 24

What is the importance of prevention in public health?

Answer 24

Prevention is necessary to reduce the incidence of chronic disease, skyrocketing health care costs, and to enhance the quality of life for the public in general

Question 25

What is syndrome surveillance?

Answer 25

It is the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice