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AGENT EXAMPLES
BIOLOGICAL Virus, bacteria, fungus, parasite
CHEMICAL Lead, mercury, insecticide
PHYSICAL Humidity, atmospheric pressure, radiation
MECHANICAL Stab, trauma
NUTRITIVE Iron or iodine deficiency, cholesterol
THE MULTIPLE CAUSATION THEORY
HERD IMMUNITY
Is the probability of a group or community
developing an epidemic upon introduction of an
infectious agent.
NECESSARY CAUSE
Refers to the factor must be present for the disease to occur.
SUFFICIENT CAUSE
Indicates that if a factor is present, the disease can occur, but the
factor’s presence does not always result in the disease’s occurrence.
CONCEPT OF CAUSALITY AND ASSOCIATION
CONCEPT OF CAUSALITY AND ASSOCIATION
DIFFERENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED
RISK OF DISEASE
• PREDISPOSING FACTOR –any characteristics of an individual, a
community or an environment that predisposes behavior or other
conditions related to health; includes knowledge, belief and attitude but
many include other factors such as socio-economic status.
• ENABLING FACTOR – any characteristics of an individual, group or the
environment that facilitates or make possible a certain health behavior or
other conditions affecting health; includes any skill or resource required
to attain that condition.
• REINFORCING FACTOR – any reward or punishment or any feedback
following or anticipate as a consequence of health behavior.
CONCEPT OF CAUSALITY AND ASSOCIATION
The relationship between a risk factor and a certain disease can
be described in terms of the following
types of association:
1. SPURIOS OR ARTIFACTUAL ASSOCIATION – association when none actually exists
2. INDIRECT – presence of known or unknown factor common to both a
characteristics and a disease may wholly or partly explain a statistical association.
3. DIRECT OR CASUAL – presence of a factor which wholly and directly explain the
cause of disease; no intervening variables
• ONE TO ONE CASUAL – suggests that when one factor is present, disease
results; conversely, when the disease is present, the factor must also be present.
• MULTIFACTORIAL CAUSATION – several factors acting independently or
synergistically can produce a disease.