Public Health Flashcards
What is public health?
The science and art of protecting and promoting health, preventing ill-health and prolonging life through the organised efforts of society
The tree domains of public health?
Health improvement - Education, housing, employment, lifestyle
Health protection - disease, chemicals, radiation
Health-care Public Health - Clinical effectiveness, service planning, efficiency
The Nuffield ladder of prevention:
Do nothing — provide info — enable choice — incentives — restrict choice — eliminate choice
Social determinants of health:
The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money power and resources. The social determinatives of health are mostly responsible for health inequalities.
Job of public health
Look at the cause of the cause and do something about it.
E.g. COPD - main cause is smoking
Why do people smoke and what can we do to change that?
What is health psychology?
Emphasises the role of psychological factors in the cause, progression and consequences of health and illness.
Aims to put theory into practice by promoting healthy behaviours.
What is health behaviours?
Name the three types…
Health behaviours are behaviours/actions that affect your health.
- Health behaviours = a Behavioral aimed to prevent disease e.g eating healthy
- A behaviour aimed to seek remedy e.g. going to the doctor
- Any activity aimed at getting well e.g resting, taking medications etc
Health behaviours can also be damaged into 2 larger groups of behaviours…
Health damaging = e.g smoking, alcohol, drugs, sun exposure etc
Health promoting = e.g good diet, vaccinations, screenings etc
What are modifiable and non modifiable risk factors?
Modifiable risk factors are factors that we can change - diet smoking, exercise etc
Non modifiable risk factors = factors that affect health that we can’t change - sex, age genetics
May also argue - jobs, location - socio-economic status
Why do we need to know about health behaviour?
Disease prevention
As a doctor it is important to understand that it is difficult to change unhealthy habits
Economics - obesity and alcohol alone cost the U.K about 50 Bn/ year
Overwhelming evidence that changing people’s behaviour can have an impact on their cause of death
It may be easier to change behaviour than pay for expensive treatments, and alter socio-economic statuses
What could a brief primary care intervention aimed at reducing alcohol consumption could lead to…
A change in the individuals behaviour - increased health outcomes, may affect friends viewpoint.
A change in the local community - local alcohol sales decrease, leads to a decreased alcohol related crime and hospital admissions
A change in the population level - start to carry through to a national level.
What is unrealistic optimism?
Individuals continue to practice health damaging behaviours due to inaccurate perceptions of risk and susceptibility.
- May lack experience with the problem
- Belief that it is preventable by other actions
- Belief not happened by now it won’t happen (smoking)
- Belief problem is rare
Why do we take risks with out health?
Unrealistic optimism, culture, stress, age
How does the health belief model work?
- Individuals will change if they believe they are susceptible to the condition
- Believe it has serious consequences
- Believe taking action will decrease susceptibility
- The benefits outweigh the costs
How does the theory of planned behaviour work?
You have the attitude “smoking isn’t good”
Subjective norm - “most people important to me don’t smoke”
Perceived behaviour control “i have the ability to give up smoking”
Behaviour intention “I intend to give up smoking”
