Week 12

Question 1

What is prevention?

Answer 1

activities aimed at directly modifying the root determinants of disease

Question 2

What is early diagnosis?

Answer 2

detecting and treating diseases before they manifest through symptoms

Question 3

What is number needed to screen?

Answer 3

how many people screened in order to avoid one adverse death/adverse event within a period of time

typically 100s-1000s

Question 4

What is the basic assumption of screening?

Answer 4

screening can distinguish between people who will get sick and people who will not

if distinction is not possible, no point in screening

requires adequate high-quality scientific evidence for systemic adoption

Question 5

What is the paradox of prevention?

Answer 5

moderately reducing risk of everyone, not just those who are at highest risk

Question 6

Who is assessed in screening?

Answer 6

screen individuals but organized at level of entire population

population level prevention -> evidence-based promotion of healthy habits

Question 7

What are some factors on which screening depends?

Answer 7

age
sex
biomarkers (ex. cholesterol)
behaviours

accessibility and distribution of screening itself may differ based on SDOH

Question 8

What are some rules of thumb for searching for health information online?

Answer 8

trust new findings only if replicated

trust only findings qualified by their uncertainty

trust findings only if placed in context (ex. other risk factors, population characteristics, etc.)

trust findings only if not framed as advertisements

trust findings and recommendations only if concordant (cross-check your info)

Question 9

What is under the umbrella of public health? What is one of their primary responsibilities?

Answer 9

health authorities
hospitals 
general practices
specialists
prevention units

responsible for comparing benefits and costs of interventions and services

Question 10

Describe the messages from the “epidemic of the know it all expert” TEDTalk.

Answer 10

too many experts claim to have all the answers when the rest of the scientific community has so many questions

give shortcuts to a solution

more you study, more you should NOT know, more questions you should have

no single study that can change the standard of care

Question 11

What is misinformation?

Answer 11

information contrary to the consensus of the scientific community

affects QOL, maybe even mortality risk

Question 12

What is disinformation?

Answer 12

coordinated or deliberate efforts to circulate misinformation

typically to gain money, power, or reputation

Question 13

Why is having the ability to search for health information a double-edged sword?

Answer 13

empowers individuals in decision making

BUT vast amount of information makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction, even when highly motivated

Question 14

What is confirmation bias?

Answer 14

selective exposure to evidence supporting prior beliefs

people seek out data to confirm what they already believe, even if it is incorrect

Question 15

What is meant by “echo chambers” of information?

Answer 15

information diet reinforces a worldview, extremism is exacerbated

confirmation bias in information searching makes people on opposite sides both firmly believe they are right, separates them further

Question 16

Why does false information spread so much more efficiently than true information?

Answer 16

content feels more novel

content elicits high-arousal emotions

more likely to be shared

Question 17

Where is misinformation most likely to be spread?

Answer 17

on user-generated content

• social media, discussion threads, etc.
• mobile apps (little standardization)

political misinformation more concentrated on Twitter
- though older adults more likely to share on Facebook

Question 18

What is eHealth literacy? Why is it important?

Answer 18

patient moved from being passive recipient of health advice to active participant in consuming and evaluating health information

ability for lay people to access information is both good and bad

ability to seek, find, and understand health information from electronic sources to make appropriate health decisions

Question 19

What are the costs of low health literacy?

Answer 19

economic drain of low health literacy is $238 billion/year

36% of US adults had basic or lower health literacy

individuals with low literacy are more likely to:

• delay or not receive care
• have more hospitalizations
• have poorer overall health status

Question 20

Why is low health literacy so prevalent?

Answer 20

most use low quality websites when looking for health information

low-quality info may be more engaging or easier to understand

as engagement increases, scientific quality tends to decrease