community Medicine topics for 4th year Undergraduates

1. BASIC DEFINITIONS
AND TERMINOLOGIES
Dr.Riaz A.Mangi
MPH
Assistant Professor
Community Medicine PUMHSW

3. MEDICINE
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient,
managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment,
palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health.

4. COMMUNITY MEDICINE
It is the system of delivery of comprehensive health care to the
people by a health team in order to improve the health of
community.

6. PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
Science and art of preventive disease, prolonging life and
promoting physical and mental health & efficiency

7. SOCIAL MEDICINE
It is the study of men in his total environment physical, biological
& socioeconomic.

8. PUBLIC HEALTH
Science and art of preventive disease, prolonging life and
promoting physical and mental health & efficiency through
organized community efforts.
BY
Charles-Edward Amory -
Winslow (1920)
was an American
bacteriologist and public health expert

9. CHANGING CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC
HEALTH
Disease control phase by Park(1880-1920)
Aimed at the control of man’s physical environment. E.g. water
supply, sewage disposal etc
Vastly improve the health of people due to disease and death
control

10. CHANGING CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC
HEALTH
Health Promotional Phase (1920-1960)
Initiated as personal health services such as MCH, School health
services, industrial health services, mental health and
rehabilitation services.
Two great movements were initiated for Human development
a)Provision of basic health services
b) Community development program

11. CHANGING CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC
HEALTH
Social engineering phase (1960-1980)
Preventive and rehabilitative aspects of chronic disease and
behavioral problems
Now the public health named as community health.
Concept of risk factor as determinant of disease came into
existence.

12. CHANGING CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC
HEALTH
Health for all phase(1981-2000)
Attainment of the level of health that permit all people to lead a
socially and economically productive life.

13. COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE
The term comprehensive health care was first used by Bhore
Committee in 1946.
This refers to provision of personal & impersonal health services
meant provision of integrated preventive, curative & promotional
health services. Personal like MCH and impersonal like water
supply.

14. INTEGRATED HEALTH
InterProfessional health care, is an approach characterized by
a high degree of collaboration and communication among health
professionals.

15. VERTICAL PROGRAM.
A single program of health service for the community like
EPI,T.B,DOTs ,Malaria control program etc.

16. HORIZONTAL PROGRAM
A health service delivery program that covers two dimensions of
health personal and community health.

17. HEALTH
Health is a state of complete Physical, mental, social well being &
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity & ability to lead a
socially, economically productive life.

18. HEALTH CARE
Health care is a public right and it is the responsibility of
governments to provide this care to all people in equal measure.

19. MEDICAL CARE
It refers to those personnel services that are provided directly by
the physician or on his instructions
Services of physician to a sick person

20. HEALTH SYSTEM
Health services are designed to meet the
health needs of the community through the use
of available knowledge & resources.
Health services should cover the full range
of preventive, curative and rehabilitation services.
It is now fully understood that the way to
provide health care services to vast majority
of people rural or urban is by effective
primary healthcare supported by an
appropriate referral system.

21. HEALTH SYSTEM
It constitute the delivery of health services Involves
Policy
Management
Planning
Resources
Actions

22. SICKNESS
Sickness is a state of social dysfunction i-e the role that the
individual assume of being ill.

23. ILLNESS
It is a phenomenon in which one or more natural function of the
body are so disturbed that the affected individual can not meet
the natural requirement of every day life .
Means one feels of not being well

24. HYGIENE
It is the science of health that embraces all the factors which
contribute to healthful living.

25. INFECTION
Entry of microorganisms (infectious agent) into human(or
animal) host followed by their development or multiplication
within the body at expense of host.

26. INFECTED
Presence of infectious agent within the host.
Doesn’t necessarily means “Diseased”.

27. COLONIZED
Presence of microbial infections within the epithelial surfaces of
the host, but without tissue invasion.

28. DISEASED
Presence of clinical signs of pathology.

29. POLLUTION
Presence of offensive, but not necessarily infectious, matter in the
environment.

30. CONTAMINATION
Presence of an infectious agent on the body surface, also or in
clothes, bedding, toys, surgical instruments or dressing or other
inanimate articles or substances including water, milk and food.

31. INFESTATION
State of carrying arthropod ecto-parasite in or on the body
(infected or colonized).

32. FOMITES
Inanimate objects, contaminated with infective material which
convey infection to others.
Such as clothes, beds, pillows, towels, books toys etc

33. INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Clinical manifested disease of men or animals resulting from an
infection

34. COMMUNICABLE DISEASE
Illness due to specific infectious agent or its toxic products
capable of being directly or indirectly transmitted from man to
man or from environment to man or animal.

35. CONTAGIOUS DISEASE
Disease that is transmitted by contact.

36. EXPOSED PERSON
The term 'exposed' is used when an individual has encountered a
disease causative pathogen. This is necessary for infection or
transmission to take place. However, it is not necessarily the case
that infection or transmission occurs.
The term 'exposed' does not correspond to 'infected' and should
be avoided when modeling diseases.

37. EXPOSURE PERIOD
Time during which an individual or group is exposed to a source
of infection.

38. INCUBATION PERIOD
Time interval between invasion by an infectious agent and
appearance of first sign or symptoms of disease.
Factors modify incubation period
infecting dose
Portal of entry
Immune response of host

39. LATENCY
Time from receiving the infection to the onset of infectiousness
“ability to transmit infection”

40. LATENT INFECTION
Persistence of an infectious agent within the host without
symptoms.

41. WINDOW PERIOD
Time between initial infection and detectable antibodies against
infection.

42. GENERATION TIME
Time interval between receipt of infection by a host and maximal
infectivity /communicability

43. SERIAL INTERVAL
Time gap between the onset of primary case and secondary case.

44. INFECTIVITY
Capacity of organisms to multiply in or around the host.

45. INFECTIVE PERIOD
Time interval during which an infectious agent can be
transmitted from a reservoir to susceptible host

46. PATHOGENECITY
Capacity to cause disease in an infected host

47. VIRULENCE
Degree of pathogenicity, the disease evoking power of a
microorganism in a specific host

48. IMMUNOGENICITY
Capacity of an organism to induce specific and lasting immunity
in a host.

49. POTENCY
Strength of a particular drug or toxin or hazard.

50. INFECTIVE DOSE
The number of organisms required to produce the disease in an
individual.

51. HOST
Person or other animal including birds and arthropods, in which
an infectious agent stays and survive under natural conditions.
Person in whom defensive powers are lacking is SUSPECTIBLE
HOST
Person possesses power to resist infection is IMMUNE

52. PRIMARY OR DEFINITIVE HOST
In which parasite attains maturity or passes its sexual state

53. SECONDARY/INTERMEDIATE
HOST
In which parasite is in a larval or asexual state.

54. OBLIGATE HOST
Only host
Man in measles and typhoid fever

55. DEAD END HOST
Host is infected but doesn’t become functionally infectious and
thus doesn’t transmit on infection

56. TRANSPORT HOST
Carrier in which organism remains alive but do not undergo
development.

57. PARASITE
Animal or vegetable organism that lives on or in another and
derives its nourishment there from.
That can not lead an independent non parasitic existence is
OBLIGATE PARASITE
Capable of either parasitic or independent existence is
FACULTATIVE PARASITE

60. INCIDENCE
Number of new cases occurring in defined population during a
specific period of time per 1000 population at risk.

61. PREVALENCE
Number of all current cases existing in a given point in time or
over a period of time in a defined population.

62. EPIDEMIC
Any disease , injury or other health related event occurring in a
community or region, clearly in excess of normal expectancy.

63. ENDEMIC
Constant presence of a disease within a given geographic area or
population group.

64. HYPER-ENDEMIC
Disease that is constantly present at a high incidence/ prevalence
rate and affects all age groups equally.

65. SPORADIC
Cases occur irregularly, haphazardly from time to time and
generally infrequently, showing little or no connection with
neither each other nor a recognizable common source of
infection.

66. HOLO-ENDEMIC
High prevalence level begins early in life and effects most of the
child population
Eg Malaria

67. PANDEMIC
Epidemics that has spread over several countries or continents,
usually affecting a large number of people.
Eg Infuenza

68. EXOTIC
Diseases which are imported into a country in which they do not
otherwise occur.

69. NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION
Infection originating in a medical facility.

70. ZOONOSIS
Infectious disease transmissible under natural conditions from
vertebrate animals to man.
Brucellosis, anthrax, plague, tularemia and rabies

71. CROSS INFECTION
New infection acquire by patient suffering from a particular
disease when admitted in hospital from their neighbor suffering
from another disease

72. OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTION
Infection by organism that are normally inoffensive but become
pathogenic when take the opportunity provided by low resistant
in host immunological defense.

73. IATROGENIC DISEASE
Any untoward or adverse consequence of a preventive ,
diagnostic or therapeutic regimen or procedure that causes
impairment, handicap, disability or death resulting from a
physician ‘s professional activity.
Hep B following blood transfusion

74. ERADICATION
Termination of all transmission of infection by extermination of
infectious agent through surveillance and contamination.

75. PRIMARY CASE
First case of communicable disease introduced in population

76. INDEX CASE
First case of communicable disease comes into contact of health
authorities.

77. EPIDEMIOLOGY
The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related
states or events in specified populations, and the application of
this study to the control of health problems.

78. PRIMARY HEALTH CARE