Ch. 1: Introduction

an organism/substance that causes disease

medical practice that focuses on empirical testing as a way to seek connections b/w particular causative agents and symptoms

the proportion of people with a particular disease who subsequently die from it

persisting/recurring over a long period of time

an association b/w two variables (positive vs. negative)

deaths associated with drug abuse, suicide, and alcoholism; often interpreted as reflecting wider social problems

an approach to disease that considers humans as one part of an inter-related ecological community, necessitating the study of pathogens, vectors, hosts, and the environments that support them

non-communicable diseases associated with poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, including obesity, heart disease, and cancer

communities suffering significantly from both infectious diseases and diseases associated with increasing affluence such as obesity are sometimes said to suffer from a "double burden of disease"

a philosophical approach that suggests that humans are overwhelmingly influenced by their environment, particularly climate, with respect to characteristics such as behavior, physiology, and personality

a sudden, large outbreak of a disease with far more cases than expected for a time and place

average number of children born per woman over her lifetime

the idea that microbes invade human bodies and cause alterations that result in disease

the economic integration of the world, facilitated by advances in logistics and communication

affluent countries, including Western Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and Japan

countries marginalized by the global economy, including most countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia

causing bleeding

the human/animal in which a pathogen resides; technically, a primary host is where the organism completes the sexual stage of its life cycle, and an intermediate host is where the organism completes a larval stage

the number of new cases of a disease in a particular population over a specified time period per unit of that population (e.g., per 1000 people)

the number of infants who die between birth and the age of 1 in a given year, usually reported per 1000 live births

the average years an infant born in a particular year is expected to live, assuming that current mortality rates continue to apply

a widespread epidemic, usually continent-wide or global in reach

the structuring of society around men as the dominant figure

specific geographic settings; spaces with meaning attached to them

a philosophical approach that rejects the apparent rationality of the modern era, urging us to be aware of and question the assumptions that we make, often unconsciously, from the dominant discourse of modernism; post-modernism emphasizes the importance of listening to many different voices within society

the number of existing cases of a disease in a particular population per unit of that population (e.g., per 1000 people)

efforts to promote health and well-being by encouraging healthy behaviors before the onset of disease, as well as early detection of disease via screening programs

the immediate concerns that lead directly to illness, such as lack of food or exposure to an infectious agent

the study of health topics at the population scale, emphasizing health-promoting behaviors that will generate benefit for the broader population

techniques such as interviewing, focus groups, and participant observation that deepen our understanding of individual behavior, asking how and why people make the decisions they do

methods of inquiry based on counting, measuring, and other numerical techniques

a philosophical approach that attempts to reduce complex systems to their parts, which can then be studied independently; critics argue that this can lead to oversimplification

the area encompassed by a topic or study; a global study is considered to be a "large scale" study and a study of a neighborhood is considered to be a "small scale" study

the unique feeling or spirit of place, associated with its social significance

social connections and networks that can serve to benefit both individuals and societies

concerned with defining where things are; notions of location, distance, and area help us to describe space

the spread of a pathogen from its natural host species, causing disease in another species

cultural, economic, and political structures of society, such as government legislation, social hierarchies, and poverty

an organism that transmits a pathogen between hosts, such as a mosquito or fly