Epidemiology Flashcards
define and describe the key functions of public health
focuses on the entire spectrum of health and well being
health campaigns, vaccinations, behavioral counselling, health advice
Aims to provide groups of people with the right to be healthy and live in conditions that support health
understand public health approaches
Preparedness for disaster response
Prevention by policy
surveillance -> risk factor identification -> intervention evaluation -> implementation
problem?-> cause? -> what works?-> how do you do it
determinants of health
social/societal characteristics
genes and biology
health behaviours
medical care
what is epidemiology
the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including disease) and the application of this study to the control of diseases and other health
epidemiological triangle
Host factors
agents
environment
3 core functions of public health
assessment, policy development, assurance
what is epidemiological surveillance
ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data for those who need to know
descripitive epidemiology
searches for patterns by examining characteristics of person, place and time
geographically, over time, how disease varies among people
surveillance systems and health data sources
indentify trends, planning resources, hypotheses
hypothesis arise from considering the characteristics of person place and time considering:
difference, similarities, correlations
analytical epidemiology
testing a specific hypothesis about the relationship of a disease to a putative cause, by conducting an epidemiological study that relates the exposure of interest to the disease of interest.
what characteristics examined to study the causes of disease in analytic epidemiology:
host, agent, environment
Describe host factors
personal traits
behaviors
genetic predisposition
immunologic factors
influence the chance for disease or its severity
describe Agents
biological, physical chemical
necessary for disease to occur but may not cause disease
describe the environment
external conditions
physical or biologic or social
contribute to the disease process, combine with agent
sufficient factors
epidemics arise when…
host agent and environmental factors are not in balance
