Health Determinants, Equity & Intervention

Question 1

What are health determinants comprised of?

Answer 1

Genes
Environment: Physical environment, social and economic environment
Lifestyle
Health care

Question 2

What are the differences between equity and equality?

Answer 2

Equity- About what is fair and just

• Depends on the need
• Dimensions- Geographical, age, gender, class, socioeconomic, ethnicity

Equality- Concerned with equal shares

Question 3

What is horizontal and vertical equity?

Answer 3

Horizontal equity
Equal treatment for equal need
Eg All individuals with pneumonia only should be treated equally

Vertical equity
Unequal treatment for unequal need
Eg Individuals with different diseases need different treatments, areas with poorer health need higher expenditure on health services

Question 4

What are the domains of public health practice?

Answer 4

1. Health improvement:
   Societal interventions aimed at preventing disease, promoting health and reducing inequalities
   Eg. Inequalities, education, housing, employment, lifestyles, family/community
2. Health protection
   Measures to control infectious diseases, risks and environmental hazards
   Eg. Infectious diseases, radiation, emergency response, hazards, chemicals and poisons
3. Improving services (Health care)
   Organisation and delivery of safe, high quality services for prevention, treatment and care
   Eg. Clinical effectiveness, efficiency, audit and evaluation, clinical governance

Question 5

Explain the difference between public health interventions delivered at the population (ecological) and individual levels, using one example for each to illustrate your answer

Answer 5

Individual level- Vaccinations
Community level- Education in schools
Population level- Laws to make smoking/alcohol harder