OLCreate: Glossary

Glossary

Browse the glossary using this index

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A

acquired resistance

Resistance to an antibiotic to which a bacterium is innately susceptible. It occurs when a bacterium acquires the ability to resist the actions of a particular antibiotic through either genetic mutation or horizontal gene transfer.

amino acid

The individual unit from which proteins are constructed.

antimetabolites

Chemicals that are structurally similar to natural metabolites but just different enough to interfere with normal cell function.

B

bactericidal

Antibiotic that kills bacteria.

bacteriophage

A virus that infects bacteria.

bacteriostatic

Antibiotics that stop or slow bacterial growth.

biomedical model

A model of health that focuses on biological processes and factors that affect health.

broad-spectrum

Antibiotics that affect (either kill or stop reproducing) a wide range of bacteria: particularly, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species.

C

chromosomes

DNA molecules containing some, or all, of the genetic information of an organism.

E

efflux pump

Membrane proteins found in bacteria and other cells that actively transport molecules, including antibiotics and toxins, out of the cell.

enzymes

Proteins that speed up (catalyse) chemical reactions in living organisms.

equity

‘The absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically or demographically or by other dimensions of inequality (e.g. sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation) ... Health equity is achieved when everyone can attain their full potential for health and wellbeing.’ (WHO, n.d. 1).

eukaryotes

One of the two main categories of living things (the other is prokaryotes). Eukaryotic organisms, including humans and animals, have cells containing nuclei and other membranous organelles.

exposure

When a person comes into contact with an infectious pathogen. Environmental factors such as ventilation, temperature and humidity influence the level of exposure a person has to infectious diseases.

G

gender

The socially constructed norms that impose and determine inequalities in power, roles and relations of and between women, men, boys, girls and gender-diverse people, and that underlie gender-based discrimination.

gender analysis

In health, gender analysis seeks to identify how gender norms, beliefs, roles, time allocation, division of labour, access to resources, and rules and decision-making power lead to different experiences of health and health systems.

gender equality

Equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for people of all genders.

gender equity

Fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities between people of all genders.

gender mainstreaming

The systematic integration of gender perspectives into analysis and policy, including assessing the gendered implications of any planned action.

gender norms

‘A sub-set of social norms that describe how we are expected to behave in a given social context as a result of our gender. Gender norms intersect with other norms related to our age, ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity – among other factors – and the way in which we experience them. The best way to achieve norm change is, therefore, to recognise and address these intersections. Gender norms often reflect and reinforce unequal gender relations, usually to the disadvantage of women and girls, but also to those men and boys who do not conform to the gender norms that prevail. They are generally understood as defining the expected behaviour of people who identify (or are identified by others) as male or female. They often erase non-binary or gender-fluid identities.’ (ALIGN, n.d.)