Public Health Medicine

Question 1

What is public health medicine?

Answer 1

The art and science of improving health through the organised efforts of society

Question 2

What is clinical medicine?

Answer 2

Focused on providing healthcare to individual patients

Question 3

3 major areas of public health practice in the UK and Scotland

Answer 3

Healthcare services
Health protection
Health promotion

Question 4

What are healthcare services primarily concerned with?

Answer 4

Ensuring the quality of provision of healthcare and the outcomes of healthcare

Question 5

What is health protection primarily concerned with?

Answer 5

Preventing the transmission of infectious diseases and ensuring the safety of the general environment including water, food and air quality (including environmental hazards such pollution and radiation)

Question 6

Another major role of health protection

Answer 6

Dealing with outbreaks of infectious diseases (and other incidents) which threaten the public health

Question 7

What is health promotion concerned with?

Answer 7

Enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants

Question 8

What does health promotion commonly look at?

Answer 8

Health risks (alcohol / tobacco)
Promotion of adoption of healthy lifestyles

Question 9

Examples of public health emphasis on ‘collective responsibility for health’ and the want to control or mitigate social factors that impact adversely on health

Answer 9

Health warning on cigarettes
Compulsive wearing of seatbelts and motorbike helmets
Ban on smoking in public places 
Minimal alcohol pricing
Minimal working wage

Question 10

What is evidence based medicine?

Answer 10

The integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values