Foundational Concepts Flashcards
What is population health?
An approach to health that aims to improve the health of the entire population and to reduce health inequities among population groups
What is health?
o Health is multidimensional and not merely the presence or absence of disease
o It also has social, psychological, and cultural determinants and consequences
What is a disease?
o Abnormal, medically defined changes in the structure or functioning of the human body
What is illness?
o Also called sickness
o Individual’s experience or subjective perception of lack of physical or mental well-being and consequent inability to function normally in social roles
What is disability?
Results from an interaction between people with a certain health condition, personal factors, and environmental factors which result in
Impairment
Activity limitation
Participation restrictions
If we reduce barriers and stigma and increase accessibility, we reduce the amount of disability experienced
How can we reduce the amount of disability someone experiences?
Reduce barriers and stigma
Increase accessibility
What 3 views of health did we examine?
Biomedical - biological causes and treatment of illness
Behavioural - behaviours cause disease
Socioenvironmental - heath is a product of your environment (political, economic, psychosocial)
Describe the biomedical view of health
o Focuses on the causes and treatments of ill health and disease in terms of biological cause and effect
o Ignores psychological factors but we know behaviours play a role in health
o Many communicable diseases declined before treatments were developed due to improvements in sanitation, nutrition, etc.
Describe the behavioural view of health
o Also called lifestyle
o Posits that people’s behaviours are primarily what causes disease
o Does not consider larger factors that influence their behaviors
Describe the socioenvironmental view of health
Views health more holistically as the product of ones environment:
Political
Economic
Psychosocial
Encompasses the SDoH
Which view of health is aimed at identifying the infectious cause of a disease and developing an effective treatment?
Biomedical
Before we developed antibiotics, what were ways that many communicable disease rates were decreased through population health initiatives?
This is part of the biomedical view of health
Sanitation, nutrition, etc. decreased rates of disease prior to definitive treatments
What view of health has the fundamental belief that disease is primarily caused by an individuals choices and behaviour?
Behavioural
What view of health encompasses the social determinants of health?
Socioenvironmental
What are the 3 parts of the epidemiological triangle?
Host
Agent
Environmental
What agents may be involved in the epidemiological triangle?
chemical (e.g., lead)
biological (e.g., bacteria)
physical (e.g., violence)
What host factors may be involved in the epidemiological triangle?
o May be genetic or acquired
o Influence susceptibility to disease
What environmental factors may be involved in the epidemiological triangle?
o Biological, social, or physical
o May affect exposure and susceptibility
What health model did we review that shows us that all diseases are multifactorial and may be preventable by changing factors specific to the host, the environment, or the agent?
Epidemiological triangle
Based on the epidemiological triangle, what does successful control of the disease require?
Action at multiple points of the triangle (host, agent, environment)
How do social determinants of health relate to the epidemiological triangle?
SDoH change our susceptibility to an infectious agent:
Host - our biology
Environment - affects both the physical environment such as waste disposal, water/air/soil quality, food quality etc. and the psychosocial environment
What are the 5 principles of primary health care?
MEMORY TIP: Primary healthcare PATCH up our health
P - public participation
A - accessibility
T - technology that is appropriate
C - collaboration between sectors
H - health promotion
What is the underpinning concept of SHOH?
How do we achieve health for all?
Underpinned by social justice and equity in health, with a focus on the population, community, and individuals
Achieving health for all requires the participation of multiple sectors of society, not only health care, as well as the participation and involvement of community members
How does the physical environment (both indoors and outdoors) affect human health?
Part of the epidemiological triangle
o Directly – exposure to potentially hazardous agents such as chemicals or radiation
o Indirectly – global warming diminishing food production
