MBBS 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 MBBS, 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 MBBS

18 of 55 cards from the Social and Preventive Medicine deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Define Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM).

   SPM is the branch of medicine dealing with the prevention of disease, promotion of health, and prolongation of life through organized community efforts. It combines social medicine (health in relation to social factors) with preventive medicine (preventing disease before it occurs).

2. What is the scope of Social and Preventive Medicine?

   It spans the full spectrum of health: health promotion, specific protection, early diagnosis and treatment, disability limitation, and rehabilitation. It covers epidemiology, biostatistics, demography, environmental health, occupational health, nutrition, MCH, communicable and non-communicable disease control, and health management.

3. State the WHO (1948) definition of health.

   "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Spiritual and other dimensions were later added in discussions.

4. What are the four levels of prevention?

   1) Primordial prevention (prevent emergence of risk factors), 2) Primary prevention (health promotion and specific protection), 3) Secondary prevention (early diagnosis and prompt treatment), and 4) Tertiary prevention (disability limitation and rehabilitation).

5. Differentiate health promotion from specific protection.

   Health promotion is non-specific action to enhance overall health (e.g., good nutrition, health education, lifestyle). Specific protection targets a particular disease/agent (e.g., immunization, fluoridation, use of specific nutrients, chemoprophylaxis).

6. Name a key milestone marking the start of modern public health and its figure.

   John Snow's 1854 investigation of the Broad Street cholera outbreak in London (removing the pump handle) is a landmark; he is regarded as the father of modern epidemiology. The 1848 Public Health Act in England also marked the start of state-organized public health.

7. What were the three historical phases (eras) in the evolution of public health?

   1) Disease control phase (sanitary/environmental, 1880s), 2) Health promotive phase (personal/MCH services), and 3) Social engineering / new public health phase (chronic disease, risk factors, comprehensive care).

8. Define Primary Health Care (PHC) as per the Alma-Ata Declaration.

   Essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound, socially acceptable methods and technology, made universally accessible to individuals and families at a cost the community and country can afford, in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination. Declared at Alma-Ata, 1978, with the goal "Health for All by 2000."

9. What are the four principles (pillars) of Primary Health Care?

   1) Equitable distribution (accessibility), 2) Community participation, 3) Intersectoral coordination, and 4) Appropriate technology.

10. List the eight essential elements of Primary Health Care (Alma-Ata).

    Remembered as ELEMENTS: 1) Education about health, 2) Locally endemic disease control, 3) Expanded immunization, 4) Maternal and child health/family planning, 5) Essential drugs, 6) Nutrition (food supply), 7) Treatment of common diseases/injuries, 8) Safe water and sanitation. (Later mental health was added.)

11. 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 the control of health problems (John Last).

12. What is the epidemiological triad?

    The interaction of Agent, Host, and Environment. Disease results when this equilibrium is disturbed; the environment acts as the medium for agent–host interaction.

13. Differentiate incidence from prevalence and give their formulas.

    Incidence = new cases over a period. $$\text{Incidence rate} = \frac{\text{Number of new cases during a period}}{\text{Population at risk}} \times 1000$$ Prevalence = existing (old + new) cases at a point/period. $$\text{Point prevalence} = \frac{\text{Total existing cases at a point in time}}{\text{Population at that point}} \times 1000$$

14. State the relationship between prevalence, incidence and duration of disease.

    For a stable (steady-state) condition: $$P = I \times D$$ where $P$ = prevalence, $I$ = incidence, and $D$ = average duration of the disease.

15. Define attack rate and give its formula.

    Attack rate is an incidence rate used during epidemics, expressed as a percentage. $$\text{Attack rate} = \frac{\text{Number of new cases during outbreak}}{\text{Total population at risk}} \times 100$$

16. What is the basic reproduction number ($R_0$) and what does its value indicate?

    $R_0$ is the average number of secondary cases produced by one infected case in a fully susceptible population. If $R_0 > 1$ the infection spreads (epidemic potential); if $R_0 < 1$ it dies out; if $R_0 = 1$ it is endemic/stable.

17. Classify epidemiological studies into the two broad categories.

    1) Observational studies (descriptive: case report, case series, cross-sectional, ecological; analytical: case-control, cohort) and 2) Experimental/interventional studies (randomized controlled trials, field trials, community trials).

18. Compare cohort and case-control studies in direction and starting point.

    Cohort: starts with exposure, follows forward to outcome (exposure to disease); good for rare exposures, measures incidence and relative risk. Case-control: starts with disease, looks back at exposure (disease to exposure); good for rare diseases, cheaper, measures odds ratio.

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