FMGE Social and Preventive Medicine Syllabus

Social and Preventive Medicine syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Social and Preventive Medicine in FMGE, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Introduction to Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM)

   3 topics

   • Definition, scope, and importance of SPM in public health
   • Historical perspective of public health and evolution of preventive medicine
   • Principles of primary health care and the role of SPM in disease prevention and health promotion
2. 2

   Epidemiology

   4 topics

   • Basic concepts in epidemiology
     • Disease frequency
     • Measures of disease occurrence
     • Measures of association
   • Types of epidemiological studies
     • Descriptive studies
     • Analytical studies (case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies)
     • Experimental studies
   • Measures of disease spread and outbreak investigation
     • Incidence
     • Prevalence
     • Attack rate
     • Epidemic curve
     • Steps in outbreak investigation
   • Screening and diagnostic tests
     • Sensitivity
     • Specificity
     • Predictive values
     • Likelihood ratios
3. 3

   Biostatistics

   4 topics

   • Introduction to biostatistics
     • Descriptive statistics
     • Measures of central tendency
     • Dispersion
     • Normal distribution
   • Probability and sampling
     • Probability distributions
     • Sampling techniques
     • Sampling error
   • Inferential statistics
     • Hypothesis testing
     • Confidence intervals
     • t-tests
     • chi-square tests
     • Regression analysis
   • Epidemiological software and data analysis
     • Use of software packages for data management
     • Analysis
     • Presentation
4. 4

   Health Information Systems

   3 topics

   • Health information management
     • Electronic health records (EHR)
     • Health information exchange (HIE)
     • Health data standards
   • Disease surveillance systems
     • National and international surveillance systems for monitoring disease trends, outbreaks, and epidemics
   • Health indicators and health status assessment
     • Measurement of population health indicators
     • Morbidity and mortality rates
     • Health-related quality of life
5. 5

   Health Promotion and Education

   4 topics

   • Health behavior theories
     • Health belief model
     • Social cognitive theory
     • Stages of change model
   • Health promotion strategies
     • Community-based interventions
     • Social marketing
     • Health education campaigns
     • Behavior change communication
   • Health education methods
     • Individual counseling
     • Group education
     • Community mobilization
     • Mass media campaigns
   • Community participation and empowerment
     • Community organizing
     • Participatory approaches
     • Empowerment strategies for health promotion
6. 6

   Environmental Health

   4 topics

   • Environmental health hazards
     • Air pollution
     • Water pollution
     • Soil contamination
     • Occupational hazards
   • Environmental epidemiology
     • Investigation of environmental exposures and health outcomes
     • Environmental risk assessment
     • Environmental justice
   • Environmental health regulations and policies
     • Legislation
     • Standards
     • Regulatory agencies for environmental protection
   • Climate change and health
     • Impact of climate change on health
     • Adaptation strategies
     • Mitigation measures
7. 7

   Nutrition and Public Health

   4 topics

   • Nutritional epidemiology
     • Assessment of dietary intake
     • Assessment of nutritional status
     • Nutritional determinants of health
   • Malnutrition and Nutritional Deficiencies
     • Types of malnutrition
     • Micronutrient deficiencies
     • Nutritional interventions
   • Public Health Nutrition Programs
     • Food fortification
     • Supplementation
     • Nutrition education
     • School feeding programs
   • Obesity and Chronic Diseases
     • Epidemiology of obesity
     • Diet-related chronic diseases
     • Obesity prevention strategies
8. 8

   Maternal and Child Health

   4 topics

   • Maternal and child health indicators
     • Maternal mortality rate
     • Infant mortality rate
     • Under-five mortality rate
     • Neonatal mortality rate
   • Antenatal care and safe motherhood
     • Maternal health services
     • Prenatal screening
     • Prevention of maternal and neonatal complications
   • Child health services
     • Immunization programs
     • Growth monitoring
     • Nutritional supplementation
     • Child development services
   • Adolescent health
     • Adolescent-friendly health services
     • Reproductive health education
     • Prevention of adolescent risk behaviors
9. 9

   Occupational Health

   4 topics

   • Occupational health hazards
     • Physical hazards in the workplace
     • Chemical hazards in the workplace
     • Biological hazards in the workplace
     • Psychosocial hazards in the workplace
   • Occupational diseases
     • Types of occupational diseases
     • Surveillance of occupational diseases
     • Prevention measures for occupational diseases
   • Occupational safety and health regulations
     • Occupational safety standards
     • Workplace safety programs
     • Occupational health and safety management systems
   • Ergonomics and workplace wellness
     • Design of ergonomic workspaces
     • Prevention of musculoskeletal disorders
     • Promotion of employee health and well-being
10. 10

    Health Policy and Management

    4 topics

    • Health policy development
      • Policy formulation
      • Policy implementation
      • Policy evaluation in public health
    • Health systems and services
      • Structure of health systems
      • Organization of health services
      • Delivery of health services at national, regional, and local levels
    • Health financing and health insurance
      • Models of health financing
      • Health insurance schemes
      • Health expenditure analysis
    • Health governance and leadership
      • Role of governments in health governance
      • Role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in health governance
      • Role of international agencies in health leadership

Social and Preventive Medicine flashcards for FMGE

18 of 51 cards from the Social and Preventive Medicine deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Define Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM/Community Medicine).

   The branch of medicine that deals with prevention of disease, promotion of health, and prolongation of life among groups/communities through organized community efforts, addressing the social, environmental, and economic determinants of health rather than individual curative care.

2. What are the three levels of prevention, and give an example of each?

   Primary (health promotion + specific protection, e.g., immunization), Secondary (early diagnosis + prompt treatment, e.g., screening), Tertiary (disability limitation + rehabilitation, e.g., physiotherapy after stroke).

3. Name Leavell and Clark's five 'modes of intervention' across the natural history of disease.

   Health promotion, Specific protection, Early diagnosis & treatment, Disability limitation, and Rehabilitation.

4. What is primordial prevention?

   Prevention of the emergence of risk factors in populations where they have not yet appeared, mainly through health education and lifestyle measures (e.g., preventing smoking initiation or unhealthy diet in childhood).

5. Who is regarded as the 'father of epidemiology' and for what landmark work?

   John Snow, for his investigation of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London, linking cholera to contaminated water from the Broad Street pump (a classic field epidemiology study).

6. What are the four components of the WHO definition of health (1948)?

   A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (with spiritual well-being often added later).

7. What are the eight essential elements of Primary Health Care (Alma-Ata, 1978)?

   Education on health problems, food supply & nutrition, safe water & sanitation, maternal & child health (incl. family planning), immunization, prevention/control of local endemic diseases, treatment of common diseases/injuries, and provision of essential drugs.

8. State the four principles of Primary Health Care.

   Equitable distribution, Community participation, Intersectoral coordination, and Appropriate technology.

9. What slogan and target year were set at the Alma-Ata conference?

   'Health for All by the year 2000' through Primary Health Care.

10. Define epidemiology.

    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.

11. What are the three components of the epidemiological triad?

    Agent, Host, and Environment, whose interaction determines disease occurrence.

12. Differentiate incidence and prevalence.

    Incidence = number of NEW cases occurring in a defined population over a specified period. Prevalence = number of ALL existing (old + new) cases at a point (point prevalence) or period in time. Prevalence ≈ Incidence × Duration.

13. Give the formula for incidence rate.

    Incidence rate = (Number of new cases during a period / Population at risk during that period) × 1000 (or other base).

14. Classify epidemiological studies into their two broad categories.

    Observational (descriptive: case report, case series, cross-sectional/prevalence; and analytical: case-control, cohort, ecological) and Experimental/Interventional (RCT, field trials, community trials).

15. Compare the direction of inquiry in cohort vs case-control studies.

    Cohort: starts with exposure → follows forward to outcome (prospective, measures incidence, gives relative risk). Case-control: starts with disease → looks backward for exposure (retrospective, gives odds ratio).

16. Which study design provides the strongest evidence for causation and why?

    The randomized controlled trial (RCT), because randomization balances known and unknown confounders, allowing causal inference; it sits at the top of the analytical study hierarchy.

17. Define and give the formula for Relative Risk (RR).

    RR = Incidence of disease in exposed / Incidence in non-exposed = [a/(a+b)] / [c/(c+d)]. RR>1 indicates increased risk; obtained from cohort studies.

18. Define and give the formula for Odds Ratio (OR).

    OR = (a×d)/(b×c), the cross-product ratio of a 2×2 table; it estimates relative risk in case-control studies, especially when disease is rare.

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