History and Scope Flashcards
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely _______________
the absence of disease or infirmity
Public health is the science and art of __________, ______, and _______ through organized efforts of society
preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health
What is the study of the occurrence and DISTRIBUTION of health related states or events in specific population, including the study of the DETERMINANTS influencing such state, and the application of this knowledge to CONTROL OF HEALTH PROBLEMS?
Epidemiology
What are the 4 key aspects of epidemiology?
Determinants, distribution, population, and health phenomena/problems
Determinants are…
Factors or events that are capable of bringing about a change in health
Determinants can have a positive effect (risk factor) or alter health status in a positive way (protective factor). Give an example of risk factor and protective factor
Risk factors are can be things that increase a person’s chances of drug abuse (smoking), while protective factors can reduce the risk (physical exercise).
Examples of Determinants
Agent (virus), exposure (carcinogens), and social and behavioral risk factor(smoking, obesity).
Distribution is important because
it allows us to see the burden of the disease and frequency of disease occurrence.
Unlike clinicians, epidemiologist examine health problems among ________ not _____
population groups, not individuals
Aims of epidemiology
- Describe the health status of populations
- Explain the etiology of disease
- predict, prevent, and control health problems in populations
Epidemiology is
interdisciplinary - draws from many different fields
Quantification is a central activity of epidemiology. What two things are typically quantified in epidemiology?
- Morbidity/mortality a.k.a outcome
2. Determinants aka risk factors or exposure
Rather than just counting the cases of disease, one should count what?
the episodes of disease
Epidemic
- When there is an EXCESS of expectancy of a particular disease in a community or region
- We need to know the usual amount and its number during a specific time of the year.
- EX: Number of flu cases during winter would not be considered normal during summer.
How can we identify the normal level of a disease expectancy level?
Using surveillance or epidemic threshold
What is surveillance
a systematic collection of data pertaining to the occurrence of specific diseases. After the collection of data, information will be disseminated to other fields such as health department and clinicians.
Epidemic threshold
the minimum number of cases (or deaths) that would support the conclusion that an epidemic was underway.
- If a single case of a disease is considered an epidemic, then the epidemic threshold must be 0.
- An example of this would be small pox, the number epidemic threshold would be 0.
Endemic
Habitual presence of a disease within a given geographic area. Meaning, the disease stays below the epidemic threshold.
Hyperendemic
When the number of cases from the disease stays very close to the threshold
Pandemic
An epidemic on a large scale. When a large number of people may be affected and a disease may cross international borders.
According to WHO’s definition of pandemic, the disease must sustain community level outbreaks in _________ in one WHO region and in at least ______
one or more countries; one other country in another WHO region.
What is the first reported pandemic in history?
the Black Death (plague)
What disease claimed one quarter to one third of population of Europe and when did it occur?
Plague; 1346-1352
When was the latest plague outbreak and where did it occur?
Madagascar in Aug- Dec of 2017
The 1918 influenza Pandemic had what percentage of case fatality?
2.5% in comparison to the usual 0.1%
How many people died from 1918 influenza world wide?
50-100 million
What is case fatality?
The percentage of people who died and had the disease
What is the virus that caused the 2009 Influenza and how many countries were affected?
Novel H1N1 strain and swine flu; over 214 countries
Why did people panic about Ebola?
Because of the high case of fatality rate. According to WHO, it was calculated to be close to 50%.
What was Hippocrates known for?
He held the belief that illness had a physical and rational explanation rather than the supernatural explanations of disease causation.
- Who was the founder of science of demography, the study of human populations?
- He also recorded seasonal variations in births and deaths.
- Showed excess male over female differences in mortality
John Graunt
He investigated a cholera outbreak in London and linked it with contaminated water supplies
John Snow
What technique did John Snow used to do his observation?
- GIS technique -lets us visualize, question, analyze, and interpret data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends.
- He used a spot map of cases and tabulation of fatal deaths and linked water pump that was supplying contaminated water with cholera.
What is natural experiement
When an epidemiologist does not manipulate a risk factor but rather OBSERVES the changes in an outcome as the result of a naturally occurring situation..
Natural experiments may be the result of what?
Legislation, policy changes or environmental interventions.
