Epidemiology and Public Health

Question 1

Define epidemiology

Answer 1

Epidemiology: the study of the distribution and determinants of diseases in human populations
(and the application of this study to control health problems.)
Aims:
• study the natural history of disease
• Determine extent of disease in a population
• Identify patterns and trends in disease occurrence
• Identify causes of disease
• Evaluate effectiveness of prevention and treatment

Question 2

Define public health and its purpose

Answer 2

Public health: The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.
→ the purpose of public health isn’t treatment: It’s to facilitate the choices an individual should make to preserve your good health and of those around you. More community based

Question 3

What is population health?

Answer 3

Population health: aims to improve the health of the entire
population and to reduce health inequities among population groups.
In order to achieve this, it acts on factors and conditions that have a strong influence on our health

Question 4

What is the difference between incidence and prevalence?

Answer 4

Incidence rates measure the occurrence of new cases of disease, whereas prevalence rates relate to existing cases of disease:

Question 5

Describe prevalence. How do you calculate point prevalence?

Answer 5

Prevalence measures the proportion of individuals in a defined population that have a disease or other health outcomes of interest at a specified point in time (point prevalence) or during a specified period of time (period prevalence).
Point Prevalence= Number of existing cases of disease/Number of persons in catchment population

Question 6

Describe incidence

Answer 6

Incidence measures the number of NEW cases of a disease (or other health outcome of interest) that develops in a population at risk during a specified time period
There are 2 main measures of incidence:
Risk → proportion of individuals in a population who develop the disease within a specified time interval. Expressed as a percentage
Incidence risk= Number of new cases of disease in a specified time period/Number of persons at risk of at the beginning of that period