Community and Public Health

Definitions

1. Health
>derived from hal, which means “hale, sound,
whole.”
>“health is a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease and infirmity.” (WHO
1946)
>a dynamic state or condition of the human
organism that is multidimensional in nature, a
resource for living, and results from a person’s
interactions with and adaptations to his or her
environment; therefore, it can exist in varying
degrees and is specific to each individual and
his or her situation.
2. Community
>a collective body of individuals identified by common characteristics such as geography, interests,
experiences, concerns, or values.
3. Public health
>actions that society takes collectively to ensure that the conditions in which people can be healthy
4. Public health system
>the organizational mechanism of those activities undertaken within the formal structure of
government and the associated efforts of private and voluntary organizations and individuals
5. Community health
>the health status of a defined group of people and the actions and conditions to promote, protect,
and preserve their health
6. Population health
>“the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within
the group.”
7. Global health
>describes health problems, issues, and concerns that transcend national boundaries, may be
influenced by circumstances or experiences in other countries, and are best addressed by
cooperative actions and solutions

Personal Health Activities versus Community and Public Health Activities

Personal Health Activities Community and Public Health Activities

are individual actions and decision-making that are activities that are aimed at protecting or
affect the health of an individual or his or her improving the health of a population or
immediate family members or friends community.

Factors That Affect the Health of a Community

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A. Physical Factors:

 Geography
 Environment
 Community size
 Industrial development

B. Social and Cultural Factors:

 Beliefs, Traditions, and Prejudices

 Economy
 Politics
 Religion
 Social Norms
 Socioeconomic Status

C. Community Organizing:

 Individual Behavior

Epidemiology: The Study of Disease, Injury, and Death in the Community

Definition of terms:
 Epidemiology
-is “the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related
states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health
problems
 Epidemic
-an unexpectedly large number of cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior, or other
health-related event in a particular population.
 Endemic disease
-a disease that occurs regularly in a population as a matter of course
 Epidemiologist
-one who practices epidemiology
 Pandemic
-an outbreak of disease over a wide geographical area such as a continent or multiple continents

History of Epidemiology

 Hippocrates
- “Father of Medicine”
- 300 b.c.e. suggested a relationship between the occurrence of disease and the physical
environment.
 Three waves of plague:
1. The Justinian Plague (542 to 543)
2. The ‘Black Death’ (1348 to 1349)

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 3. The Great Plague of London (1664 to 1665)
 Yellow fever epidemic (1793-1803)
-caused by Yellow fever virus and is carried by the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti)
-discovered by Major Walter Reed
 Cholera epidemic (1854)
-caused by Vibrio cholera
-discovered by Robert Koch (1883)

The Importance of Rates

 Cases
-people afflicted with a disease
 Rate
-the number of events that occur in a given population in a given period of time
 Natality (birth) rate
-the number of live births divided by the total population
 Morbidity rate
-the number of people who are sick divided by the total population at risk
 Mortality (fatality) rate
-the number of deaths in a population divided by the total population
 Population at risk
-those in the population who are susceptible to a particular disease or condition
 Incidence rate
-the number of new health-related events or cases of a disease divided by the total number in
the population at risk
 Acute disease
-a disease that lasts 3 months or less
 Attack rate
-an incidence rate calculated for a particular population for a single disease outbreak and
expressed as a percentage
 Prevalence rate
-the number of new and old cases of a disease in a population in a given period of time, divided
by the total number in that population
 Chronic disease
-a disease or health condition that lasts longer than 3 months
 Crude rate
-a rate in which the denominator includes the total population
 Age-adjusted rate
-a rate used to make comparisons across groups and over time when groups differ in age
structure

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