Public Health Foundations
What is the science and practice of preventing disease, prolonging life, and improving health at the population level?
Public Health
This type of epidemiology asks who, where, and when.
Descriptive epidemiology
This hypothesis usually states that there is no difference or association between the groups being studied.
Participants understanding a study and voluntarily agreeing to participate demonstrates this ethical protection.
Informed consent
The ability of an infectious organism to enter, survive, and multiply in a host.
This core function involves collecting and analyzing information about the health of a population.
Assessment
A disease that remains consistently present at an expected level within a population.
Endemic
A person does not have the disease but receives a positive screening result.
False Positive
Differences in this population characteristic can make crude mortality rates misleading when comparing populations.
Age
The time between exposure or infection and the appearance of symptoms.
Incubation period
This core function focuses on making sure needed health services are available and accessible.
Assurance
This measure describes existing cases in a population.
Prevalence
A study reports p = 0.03 with α = 0.05. This is the decision regarding the null hypothesis.
Reject the null hypothesis
Identifying whether an agent or exposure can cause harm is this component of risk assessment.
Hazard identification
A person who harbors an infectious organism but may not show symptoms.
Carrier
This concept means giving everyone the same resources regardless of differences in need.
Equality
This measure describes new cases that develop in a population at risk.
Incidence
This measure describes a screening test's ability to correctly identify people who have the disease.
Sensitivity
One unit of this measure represents one year of healthy life lost due to disability or premature death.
Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY)
In the epidemiologic triad, Salmonella in a foodborne outbreak occupies this position.
Agent
What are the three core functions of public health?
Assessment
Assurance
Policy Development
This type of epidemic curve typically has a sharp rise in cases following one shared exposure.
Point-source outbreak
This measure describes a screening test's ability to correctly identify people who do not have the disease.
Specificity
This population health measure gives greater weight to deaths occurring at younger ages.
Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL)
The degree of severity of disease caused by an organism.
Virulence