Epidemiology Flashcards
Epidemiology
The study of the occurrence and distribution of health-related states or events in specific populations, including the study of the determinants influencing such states and the application of the knowledge to control the health problem
Infectious diseases
Epidemiology questions
To describe, explain, predict and control challenges to population health
How and Why: examine causality and modes of transmission
Who, what, where and when: of disease and causation and distribution patterns
Number one priority in public health
disease control
Public Health Nursing role in Epidemiology
Frontline in identification of outbreaks
Case management and support for quarantined individuals
Provide education
Responsible for case findings of the contacts
Outbreak
sudden occurance of a disease in a community which has never experienced the disease before OR cases occur in more numbers than expected
Epidemic
occurance of illness/disease in excess of what would normally be expected in community or region
Endemic
a disease occurring regularly within a geographic region
Pandemic
A disease affecting large portions of the population throughout the world
Screening
secondary prevention - early diagnosis and test to detect presence of disease
Case findings
determining individuals whose health statis is at risk
Surveillance
constant monitoring of disease to assess patterns and identify events that do not fit the pattern
Primordial
how society structures can change the SDoH and the health of an individual
Education, promotion
Descriptive epidemiology
person, place and time variable to describe disease patterns
What/where/when
Analytic epidemiology
examines complex relationships among determinants of disease.
Why
Epidemiologic Model (triangle)
host, agent and environment (what in the cycle promotes sickness?)
Epidemiologic Variables
descriptive factors to describe events
Susceptibility
Vulnerability, determines individual response
Pathogenesis period
host begins to react to agent to recovery, disability or death
Primary prevention
measures alter exposures promote optimal health (health reduction)
Secondary Prevention
Detect patho process, early diagnosis, screening
Tertiary Prevention
increased vulnerability/susceptibility, prevent relapse/deterioration (education, rehab, palliation)
Association and Causation
connection between stressor and disease/confirmed
Web of causation
relationships among influences of health challenge
Host (epidemiologic model)
human being in which disease occurs
ex. Age, sex, ethnicity, genetic, previous disease/immune system, birth place, marital status, immigration, education, family hx, occupation
Agent (epidemiologic model)
contagious/non-contagious force that begins or prolongs a health problem
ex. biological/infectious (bacteria, virus, fungi), chemical (smoke, poison, alcohol),physical (heat, cold)
Environment (epidemiologic model)
context that promotes the exposure of the host to agent
ex. Physical (weather, geography, pollution), Biological (plants, animals, Mico-organisms), Social (neighbourhood, housing, work, education, resources, econ. status, poverty
Risk factor
the specific exposure factor. Determines risk
Attributable risk
burden of disease in a population based on risk factors
Relative risk
the excess risk caused by a risk factor
Causality
Determined in terms of association of identified causal factors
Criteria for cause and effect relationship
Particular Stressor
Time relation
Strength of association (stressor)
Dose-response relationship
Specificity
Consistency
Biological plausibility
Experimental Replication
Rates
population proportions or fractions that are used to interpret raw data and to make comparisons and assess trends
Rates equation
numerator: number of events
Denominator: the population at a specific time period
Incident rate
number of new cases of the disease in a given time period
Prevalence rate
total number of people who have a disease at any one given time period
Morbidity Rates
provides information of population and disease/health challenges over time
Offers info on susceptibility of the population and effectiveness of health promotion
Prevalence
the number of all cases of a specific disease in a population at a given point in time/relative to the population at risk
Incidence
identification of new cases of disease in a population over time/relative to the population at risk
Mortality Rates
The ratio of the number of deaths in various categories to the number of people in a given population
Crude Rates
compare number of deaths/health event from a specific cause within the entire population
(birth, death, age, gender specific rate)
infant mortality
birth to one year
neonatal mortality
birth to 28 days
Maternal death rate
maternal deaths/live births x 100 000
Screening
identifies risk factors and diseases in earliest stages
high sensitivity and specificity
Sensitivity (screening)
ability to test those with diseases (positives)
Specificity (screening)
extent to which a test can identify those without the disease (false positives)
Surveillance
Ongoing collection of information regarding a health issue
Assesses patterns
Monitoring changes in disease frequency and trends with risk factors
Descriptive Research Method
Person-place-time model (who, when, where)
Analytical Research Method
how and why
Observational Studies (research method)
cross-sectional/correlation studies
present-future
examine realtionships between disease and other characteristics of a specific population at one point in time
Experimental Studies
Manipulate/controls selected variables
Clinical trials
Epidemic Curve
Used to identify additional cases that are unrecognized or unreported
Graphic display of outbreak with time on the X-axis and number of persons meeting the case definition on the Y-axis
Pre-epidemic and epidemic periods are included
Epidemic Period
time from the onset of first case to cases under investigation
Pre-epidemic period
taken from 12 months prior to the outbreak to avoid seasonal bias
Virulence
the severity of illness or disease that it causes in a host
Case-control/retrospective studies
Investigate disease by using 2 groups
