Epidemiology Flashcards
Attack rates
document the number of new cases of a disease in those exposed to the disease
Epidemiological triangle
the interrelationship between the host, environment, and the method of inquiry to derive an explanation of disease (agent)
Epidemiology
the study of the distribution and determinants of health and disease in the human population
incidence rate
the occurrence of NEW cases of the disease
How do you calculate the incidence rate?
New cases / population at risk at the time
Morbidity rate
rate of illness
mortality rate
rate of death
prevalence rate
the number of all cases of a specific disease or condition
calculate prevalence
total number of people with disease / the total population
risk
the probability of an adverse event
risk factor
variables that increase the rate of disease in people who have them
screening
to identify factors and disease in their earliest stage
screening programs
community health nurses devote a large portion of their work activities to preforming physical examinations, promoting client self-examinations or conducting screening programs in schools, clinics, or community settings
surveillance
a mechanism for the ongoing collection of community health information
Epidemiology
study of the distribution and determinants of health and disease in human population
what is the main goal of epidemiology
○ Describe disease patterns.
○ Identify the etiological factors (what causes the disease)
○ Take the MOST effective preventative measures
Person-place-time model
organized epidemiologist’s investigations of the disease pattern in the community
disease depends on the environmental conditions existing at the time of exposure
biological
social
political
physical environment
Models look at the human to environmental interactions.
● Stress the multiplicity of host and environmental interactions have developed, and understanding of the disease has progressed
● Useful for analysis of chronic diseases with multiple interrelated factors
● Useful for identifying risk factors
Wheel Model + Web model
Point prevalence
when prevalence rates describe the number of people w the disease at a specific point in time
period prevalence
represents the number of existing cases during a specific period or interval of time and includes old cases and new cases
calculate attack rate
of people who were exposed and became ill /
# of people exposed to illness
what can increase prevalent
new cases
what can decrease the prevalence
deaths, cured
Specific exposures risk factor
risk factors: cigarette smoke, hypertension, high cholesterol, excessive stress, high noise levels, or an environmental chemical
fixed characters risk factor
age, sex, genetic makeup
calculate relative risk
the incidence of disease in a population exposed to a risk factor /
a population that was not exposed to the same risk factor with the same diease
If relative risk is 2 it means
the population exposed is 2x more likely to have the disease compared to population not exposed
RR of 1.5
indicates a 50% increase in risk.
RR of 1
indicates no excessive risk from exposure.
RR of 2
indicates twice the risk.
Specific protection
Primary prevention which, Actions aimed at reducing the risk of specific diseases
establishing causality
Determining if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between risk factors and disease
Multicausation
infectious agents alone is not sufficient to cause disease, the agent must be transmitted within a conducive environment to a susceptible host
Will all exposure mean illness
Not all contact with infectious agents leads to an infectious disease
