1 Foundations of Public Health and Population Health Free Online FlashCards

What is public health?

Public health is society’s organized, collective work to create conditions in which people can be healthy.

What does population health describe?

Population health describes a group’s health outcomes, how those outcomes are distributed, and the determinants and policies that influence them.

How do population health and public health differ in emphasis?

Population health focuses on group outcomes, their distribution, and contributing factors; public health emphasizes the collective practice and systems used to protect and improve health.

Why is comparing neighborhood asthma rates a population-health perspective?

Comparing asthma rates across neighborhoods examines health outcomes across groups, making it a population-health perspective.

What is the assessment function of public health?

Assessment gathers and analyzes information about health, risks, community needs, and available resources.

How do the three core public health functions connect?

Assessment identifies a problem, policy development shapes a response, and assurance helps put it into practice and checks whether it works.

What do the 10 Essential Public Health Services provide?

The 10 Essential Public Health Services make the core functions more concrete by describing activities communities should carry out, with equity at the center.

What does the first Essential Public Health Service involve?

They include assessing and monitoring population health, the factors that influence it, and community needs and assets.

How do Essential Public Health Services address health hazards?

They include investigating, diagnosing, and addressing health problems and hazards that affect the population.

How do the Essential Public Health Services engage communities?

They include strengthening, supporting, and mobilizing communities and partnerships to improve health.

What guides public health practice?

Public health practice applies evidence, professional expertise, and community partnership to protect and improve health across populations.

Why examine health outcomes both overall and across groups?

Population-level measures show whether outcomes change overall; comparing results across groups reveals whether gaps persist or widen.