Module 4

Question 1

Epidemiologic Transition

Answer 1

A shift in the proportion of deaths among the young and the elderly; accompanies the demographic transition; signifies a change in the leading causes of death from infectious diseases to chronic diseases.

Question 2

health behaviour

Answer 2

Activity undertaken by an individual to promote good health and prevent illness

Question 3

Epidemiological transition: 3 Stages:

Answer 3

1) High Mortality rates from famine, epidemics of infectious disease and malnutrition
2) Decline in deaths from infections from infectious disease and famine as knowledge of public health grows and vaccines are created
3) Shift in the leading causes of death from infections to chronic diseases

Question 4

Chronic Disease

Answer 4

Condition for which there is no cure

Question 5

Measures of morbidity used when discussing the health of populations: Prevalence

Answer 5

number of individuals with a disease in a period of time

Question 6

Measures of morbidity used when discussing the health of populations: Incidence

Answer 6

number of new cases of a disease in a time period

Question 7

Functional status

Answer 7

A measure of the extent to which a chronic health problem, either physical or mental, produces a behavioural change in a person’s capacity to perform the necessary tasks for daily living so that the help of another person is required.

Question 8

Disability

Answer 8

Inability to perform activities of daily living

Question 9

Compression of Morbidity Theory

Answer 9

The theory that improvements in health care and prevention will compress the years that an individual will be disabled into the last few years of the life span
*overall the evidence is mixed–while some improvements in the health of older adults have been observed over time, these benefits have been concentrated in people with higher socioeconomic status
*among the population as a whole, nearly all compression of morbidity occurs among college-educated people. There has been almost no change in functional limitations among people with less education

Question 10

Health Lifestyle

Answer 10

A pattern of behaviour based on choices and options that are available to people according to their life situations; includes behaviours that directly affect health care, such as having checkups and complying with prescribed treatment as well as decisions about smoking, food, exercise, personal hygiene, alcohol use, and risky behaviours like unprotected sex.

Question 11

4 main risk factors for developing a chronic disease include:

Answer 11

*chronic alcohol use
*lack of physical activity
*poor nutrition
*tobacco use

Question 12

Effect of smoking on life expectancy

Answer 12

reduces life expectancy by 7-10 years

Question 13

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Answer 13

a term referring to two lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, that are characterized by obstruction to airflow that interferes with normal breathing.

Question 14

health-related quality of life (HRQoL)

Answer 14

Those aspects of overall quality of life that can be clearly shown to affect health—either physical or mental

Question 15

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Answer 15

the gap between upper and lower classes widens as people reach their 50s. People in the upper strata maintain relatively good health and low levels of disability until quite late in life while people in the bottom continue to experience declining health with advancing age.

Question 16

Social Economic Indicators

Answer 16

Occupation, Income, Education
*education is the preferred proxy indicator for older people because occupation and income may not apply

Question 17

Social Determinants of Health

Answer 17

the economic and social conditions that shape the health of individual communities and jurisdictions as a whole.
*Social determinants of health such as housing, income and employment underly health issues

Question 18

Blue Zones

Answer 18

refers to a longevity research program focused on investigating the characteristics and environments of the longest living populations around the world
*first written about in National Geographic by Dan Buettner

Question 19

Theory of Cumulative Inequality

Answer 19

people who begin life with greater resources continue to accumulate more of them, while those who begin life with fewer resources fall further behind.
*suggests that inequalities in health status increase with age

Question 20

Convergence Theory

Answer 20

A theory of aging that views old age as a great leveler, which reduces inequality that was evident at earlier stages of the life course.
*suggests that inequalities in health status will lessen with age

Question 21

Ethnicity and Health

Answer 21

race and ethnicity have been consistently been linked to health status. In the US, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans regularly report poorer health than white Americans. Differences in health between racial and ethnic groups are likely the result of cumulative disadvantages across the life course.

Question 22

Experiences of Older Adults with the Health Care System

Answer 22

research has found some physicians have biased or negative views towards caring for older adults. There also may be difficulties communicating with older adults.

Question 23

Health Maintenance organization

Answer 23

A health insurance plan run by a financial officer; a group of physicians belong to the HMO and the services provided are monitored by administrators to achieve efficiency and control costs; individuals who are insured through an HMO do not have an unrestricted choice of physicians but rather must choose among doctors contracted by the HMO.

Question 24

Physicians’ views on Older Adults

Answer 24

*they may have biased or stereotypical views of older adults