Epidemiology of Public Health Flashcards
What is the definition of epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of distribution and determinants of health and disease.
- In terms of distribution - how common is the disease
(How many people in a given population have a given disease)
- In terms of determinants - what causes the disease
(Why is it that some people get a disease and other’s don’t?)
What is the meaning of numerators and denominators?
Population is the denominator and cases of disease is the numerator
What does a population pyramid display?
It displays the age distribution of a population graphically
How do we calculate the frequency of dis-ease?
Frequency of disease = N/D
How do epidemiologists define a population?
a group of people who share one or more common features e.g. same ethnicity/same country
Why do we need to age adjust/standardize the age structures of each population?
To make it possible to meaningfully compare the disease frequency in two different populations
measuring disease in one point in time
prevalence
measuring disease over a period of time
incidence
how do you calculate frequency relevant to time
E = (N/D)/T
what is the goal of epidemiology?
The goal is to measure the frequency of disease in different populations
describe how epidemiologists use numerators and denominators
Epidemiologists first describe and count the people in a population or a group within that population (DENOMINATOR) and then counting the people from that population with the disease being studied (NUMERATOR)
why do epidemiologists age standardize between populations?
to compare the frequency of the disease and determine the causes of disease and how to prevent or treat them
