Glossary of terms

The phrase "all politics is local" is commonly used in United States politics. Variations of the phrase date back to 1932. Tip O'Neill, a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is most closely associated with this phrase, although he did not originate it.

In the United States, the term refers to changes in demographics trend especially age (a great number of older adults) compared to a small percent of the younger population.

The separation between older adults (65 and more) and young (under 18 years) individuals that is becoming more accentuated.

The same as the cause of the disease, it can be virus, bacteria, fungi, and others.

Bio = refers to the use of biological weapons such as viruses, bacteria, or their toxins).
Terrorism = the intentional attack to use those biological agents for mass destruction.

In this context, it refers to the individuals who meet the clinical criteria [already established] for a disease or, any other health problem.

The CDC defines bioterrorism as the intentional release or threat of release of biologic agents (i.e. viruses, bacteria, fungi or their toxins) in order to cause disease or death among human population or food crops and livestock to terrorize a civilian population or manipulate the government.

CHR = County and Health Ranking Roadmaps (CHR) model of Health Determinants

cohort refers to a group of individuals that are followed by a specific period of time to check on the development of disease based on risk factors associated with the disease on study.

the writing of the healthy people objectives is done by a group of people representing several organizations governmental and non-governmental that have experience in the field.

a term used to represent the role of the community in shaping the individual.

A community health improvement plan is a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems based on the results of community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process. (taken from the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/cha/index.html

A community health needs assessment is a collaborative process between the community health educator, or, any other public health professional that is used to mobilize the community by identifying the needs of this community, what are the priorities, resources, and other related elements that can be used to improve the health of the people in the community.

it refers to an agreement among experts and public health practitioners that those elements outlined in the core competencies of public health are essential and practical in the training of public health workers.

The term, "Conventional wisdom" or received opinion is the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted by the public and/or by experts in a field.

In this context, it means living for example in crowded conditions such as having a less number of beds for a larger family, so more than 2 persons sleeping in a bed, or, sharing other areas in an apartment, or, small house.

no names, last names, home addresses, social security, or related personal information appears in the database, this practice helps to keep confidentiality.

It is a method of group decision-making and forecasting that involves successively collating the judgments of experts.

The science is the 'discipline,' a kind of old word used to refer to a specific area of science. The other way in which people commonly use the word 'discipline' is when "kids need discipline," but it is not the use in the context of this book.

it is the same as the management of the 'cases' (see cases definition in this chapter), and it includes basically a confirmation of the diagnosis followed by treatment, follow up, or, rehabilitation.

a strategy (usually, screening - see definition later) used to detect the early presence of a disease such as cancer and other non infectious, or, infections' diseases.

The acronym stands for Emergency Medical Technicians. Same as Paramedics.

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. (US EPA, 2023. From https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/environmental-justice-enforcement-and-compliance-assurance )

EPHS refers to those services considered essential (the basic and necessary).

A term used to refer to the disposal of urine and feces mainly human.

The term refers to individuals who have specialized training and who are the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency.

Inanimate objects considered to be transmitters of disease. For example, diapers in a daycare; or handkerchiefs used by a person with common cold, etc.

the term refers to something that is designed to be practical and useful, rather than attractive.

for not wearing a seat belt while driving is the main reason people are using seat belts.

Carry the virus and also transmit it.

Health equity means all people, regardless of who they are, where they came from, how they identify,
where they live, or the color of their skin, have a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest possible lives - in body, mind, and community. (CityHealth, Health Equity. From https://www.cityhealth.org/about-us/equity-statement/ )

It is model that groups the determinants of health into interconnected categories that influence the individual's health status and overall well-being.

those objective measures that reflect the health of a society/population, they are usually rates and proportions such as infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, etc.

It refers not only to disease, but also to health outcomes that are not necessary a 'disease,' for example, the well-being of the individual, happiness, sense of satisfaction, quality of life, etc.

A document that contains the healthy objectives for the nation. It visualizes where do we want to be in the next decade (10 years) in the country.

In the origin of sciences, the different branches were called disciplines, today the word is not commonly used in everyday language, but it means, a combination of sciences and field of study.

although this term is related to 'health indicators' the term here refers mostly to a series of 'tools' that are used in prevention.

This is probably the best term to refer to Native Americans, although most people used this latter term in their writing and conversations.

another word for a person.

an old English word for disease.

when and individual suffer physical harm or damage, for example, a work related injury.

This term is probably originated from the mathematics concept of Venn Diagrams in which, the point or region/space in which three or, more circles [or, any other geometric figure] met (or, intersect) refers to the commonality in 'content.'

Consider the first demographer.

He is considered the father of public health.

the term refer the extent of the power to take public health decisions and judgments for an specific area (or jurisdiction), this area is usually a county served by the respective public health department.

One common way to measure health is to use certain health indicators that can be quantified or, assessed in a manner that provides specific results that can be used to get an overall idea of the health of an individual and in some cases, of a population as it is the case in public health, which studies population health.

In a tangible (that can be quantified for example) way. This helps since a lot of what we know as health, is very subjective.

Mpox has become a preferred term, replacing monkeypox.

same as "diseases"

it means intentional collaboration between two or more sectors (i.e., utility, health, housing, community services, etc.)

It is often referred as, just 'Census,' or, 'National Census,' which reflects collected information about the entire population of the United States, and it is done every 10 years.

negative effect.

put into practice or, use. For example, designing a research project, writing a grant proposal for funding, etc.

those institutions and programs that are available to the individual to promote its health and well-being.

A distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. It comes from the Greek word, "pattern", and is used to illustrate similar occurrences. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm

The term is commonly used in sales, and in general, a pipeline strategy is "a systematic or thoughtful approach that guides new leads/prospects through each stage of the process (pipeline)".

The Constitution gives states inherent "police power" to protect public health and safety; and this is one of the major legal basis for instituting quarantines during epidemics, or, pandemics.

It refers basically of the capacity of public health to generate and implement 'mandates' to protect the health of the public. A recent example is the vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Public health is defined as the science of protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policy making and research for disease and injury prevention."

The amount (usually expressed as a percentage) of money allowed for the public and health care system (or for a nation's health), it is a specific percentage of the country's the Gross Domestic Product (or, GDP).

“Energy traveling through space. Some types of radiation associated with radioactivity are alpha and beta particles and gamma and X rays.”

Data that has not been summarized or analyzed, it is usually data that has been cleaned of errors, and it is available for analysis.

in this context, relationships mean social networks

this is considered the major action: if people don't listen to the education messages, then, remove the source of infection - although effective method at that time, it does not work so easily in the modern world, but the idea is there.

The term in general refers to sanitary conditions of the environment such as clean households, hand washing before meals, and after using the bathroom, drinking safe water, appropriate disposal of excreta - defined later in this paragraph, etc.

an epidemiological strategy used to separate those who are sick for those who are not using a test. Example, screening for tuberculosis will provide information about those persons who are positive or, not to the tuberculin skin test. Those found positive in the test will follow additional clinical procedures and test to confirm (or, not confirm) that the person is infected or, not with tuberculosis.

The social determinants of equity are systems of power like racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and economic systems like capitalism. The social determinants of equity determine the range of contexts available and who is found in which context. (Jones, 2014 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425845/ )

The social determinants of health are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Domains of the social determinants of health include economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HP 2030 From https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health )

A concept or, framework that is used to explain how the interaction among several factors (individual, community, education, access to health care, social context, etc) promote or, contribute to the health of an individual or, community.

those policies and health laws and regulations that are available to the individual to promote its health and well-being.

Strategic planning is a process in which an organization's leaders define their vision for the future and identify their organization's goals and objectives. It is a common method used to improve the efficiency and accountability of an organization or program.

A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with “whiteness” and disadvantages associated with “color” to endure and adapt over time. (Aspen Institute, 2016 From https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/structural-racism-definition/ )

summarized data refers to data that is available in the form of counts, rates, ratios, and other statistical methods of presenting data.

Syndemic(s) is a conceptual framework for understanding diseases or health conditions that arise in populations and that are exacerbated by the social, economic, environmental, and political milieu in which a population is immersed.

the group for whom the program intends to be provided, or, the population for which the intervention is designed.

It is a commonly use model in public health, and it is composed of a series of domains or, categories that include: the individual, relationships, community and society.

The WHO defines underlying causes as "the disease[s] or injury[ies] which initiated the train[s] of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury".

A family of virus that causes among others smallpox, but it is not related to chickenpox.

A substance that causes tissue blistering.

The term refers to biological, chemical, radiological, and, nuclear agents used to kill or spread fear in populations.

World Health Organization

He is considered the father of vital statistics.

It is a term commonly used by people when referring to the Internet.