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I Unit. Introduction to public health, Unit III. Health demography and…
I Unit. Introduction to public health
Health agents
These are people who work in health promotion and disease prevention in communities, e.g., health promoters, community health workers, nurses, physicians and health administrators.
Concept of health and disease
Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Disease is defined as any alteration or dysfunction of the body or mind, manifested by specific signs and symptoms. It may be acute, chronic or terminal.
Public and community health
Public health focuses on the health of populations, and seeks to promote and protect the health of all individuals in a community.
Community health focuses on the active participation of communities in the promotion of their own health.
Current concept of health education
It focuses on empowering individuals and communities to take an active role in promoting their own health and preventing disease by encouraging the active participation of people in making decisions about their health, promoting healthy lifestyles and health equity.
Fields of action of education
-Promotion of healthy lifestyles
-Disease prevention and control
-Disease management
-Strengthening citizen participation
-Improving access to health services.
Unit III. Health demography and general epidemiology
Research designs in epidemiology
There are several research designs used to study the association between risk factors and diseases in populations.
Among the common ones are:
-Cohort studies
Case-control studies
Cross-sectional studies
-Clinical trials.
Demography and public health, static demography
In public health, demography is an important tool for understanding and addressing population health problems.
Static demography focuses on the study of the demographic structure of a population at a specific point in time, for example
-Population
-Age
-Gender
-Race/ethnicity
-Education and income.
Dynamic demographics
It focuses on the study of changes in the demographic structure of a population over time.
These are:
-Natality
-Fecundity
-Mortality
-Migratory movements.
Epidemiology
It focuses on the study of the distribution, determinants and patterns of occurrence of diseases in human populations.
Aspects studied
-Disease distribution
-Health determinants
-Patterns of health occurrence.
-Evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions.
Causality in epidemiology
It refers to the study of the relationships between risk factors and diseases in populations, and to the identification of the causes and effects of diseases.
The following criteria are required to establish a causal relationship.
-Statistical association
-Temporality
-Strength of the association
-Biological plausibility
-Specificity
-Coherence
-Experiment.
Unit IV. Epidemiology and prevention of communicable diseases.
Disinfection and sterilization
Disinfection refers to the elimination of most pathogenic microorganisms from a surface or object through the use of chemical or physical agents.
Sterilization is the elimination of all microorganisms, including pathogens and non-pathogens from a surface or object.
Communicable diseases are those that are transmitted from one person to another through different mechanisms, such as direct contact, air, food and water.
Epidemiology is an important tool for the study and prevention of communicable diseases.
Measures to prevent them:
-Immunization
-Infection control
-Vector control
-Health education.
Immunization. Childhood and adult vaccines.
Immunization is an important measure to prevent communicable diseases
In childhood, several vaccines are administered to prevent diseases such as polio, measles, rubella, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B and chickenpox.
In adulthood, some booster vaccines are recommended to maintain protection against certain diseases, especially in populations at higher risk of exposure, such as health care workers.
Other communicable diseases include
-Hepatitis B,C,D,G
-Zoonosis, brucellosis and rabies transmitted by animals.
-HIV
-Diseases transmitted by arthropods
-Airborne diseases
Unit II. Health promotion and behavior modification
Health education in the community
It focuses on health promotion and disease prevention at the community level, i.e. the general population and specific community groups.
Methods and means of Health Education
They are tools and strategies used to promote health and prevent diseases in populations
Features
-Focus on community participation
-Adaptation to cultural diversity
-Focus on prevention
-Involvement of different actors
-Use of different media and tools.