Chapter 4: Descriptive Epidemiology: Person, Place, Time Flashcards
What is descriptive epidemiology?
portrays the occurrence of a disease w/ respect to the characteristics of person, place, and time
What are descriptive studies?
They characterize the amount and distribution of disease w/in a pop.
Analytic studies?
looks at the determinants of the disease, causes in certain location
What are characteristics of person?
- age
- sex/gender
- race/ethnicity
- marital status
- -nativity/migration
- religion
- socioeconomic status
- education
- history of mental/psychological issues
What are the 3 approached to descriptive epidemiology?
- case reports
- case series
- cross sectional studies
What are case reports?
Detailed accounts of cases of disease among individuals
Ex:
What are case series?
A grouping of cases that share similar adverse health outcomes
What are protective factors?
an influence that reduces the likelihood of adverse consequences from harmful exposures
What is the method of residues?
Subtract potential causal factors to determine which individual factor or set of factors makes the greatest impact on a dependent variable
Characteristics of place?
- international
- geographic (w/in country) variations
- urban/rural differences
- localized occurrence of disease
What is a protective factor?
an influence that reduces the likelihood of adverse consequences from harmful consequences
What does the marital selection model propose?
Married people are healthier than non married people; lower morbidity/mortality rates found among married people
Is there an issue with polls regarding race/ethnicity?
Yes. Choices tend to be very broad (Black, Asian, Hispanic, etc.) and tend to give very few selection
Ex: a person could be Dominican or Haitian, and there is no selection for that. Also, it tends to group races together, even though they aren’t
Acculturation?
modifications that individuals or groups go through when they come into contact w/ another culture
Ex: Japanese when they came into America
What is the acculturation hypothesis?
That as immigrants become acculturated to a host country, their health profiles tend to converge w/ that of the native born pop.
Nativity?
could be foreign born or native born. it’s the place of origin of the individual or their relatives. Frequently overlaps w. migration
What is SES?
Socioeconomic status. One’s ranking in society (w/ regards to income, education, and occupation).
Characteristics of time?
- cyclic fluctuations/seasonal trends
- point epidemics
- secular time trends
- clustering
What is a common source epidemic?
an outbreak “due to exposure of a group of persons to a noxious influence that is common to the individuals in the group
What is a point source epidemic?
Also called a point epidemic. This may indicate “the response of a group of people to a source of infection or contamination to which they were exposed almost simultaneously. It occurs w/in 1 incubation period for the disease
What is a continuous common source outbreak?
when an outbreak lasts longer than the time span of a single incubation period and is caused by a common source of exposure
Secular trends?
gradual changes in the frequency of a disease over long time periods as there are changes in the rates of chronic disease
Case clustering?
an unusual aggregation of health events grouped together in space or time
Temporal clustering?
grouping of cases in time; the occurrence of a response to exposure to an agent after a measurable time period
