Intro Flashcards
commonly referred to as the foundation of public health. study of scientific method of problem solving that helps “disease detectives” understand how people get sick and die, who gets and dies, and how to avoid getting sick.
Epidemiology
study of distribution and determinants of health related stated or events in human populations and the application of this study to the prevention and control of health problems
Epidemiology
Greek words:
epi - among
demos - the people
logos - suffix meaning: the study of
greek words of epidemiology literally refers to the
“study among the people”
Epidemiology is important in:
Public Health
Disease Prevention
Resource Allocation
Describe healthy and unhealthy population
Establish risk favtors
Determine health of community
informs policy and health practices plays an important role in meeting public health objectives aimed at promoting physical, mental, and social well-being in the population.
Public Health
Describe the extent of disease in a population and the natural history
Public Health
Describe disease occurrence
Identifies the cause of disease
Public Health
identifies risk factors and preventive measures; findings contribute to preventing and controlling disease,
injury, disability, and death
Disease Prevention
guides healthcare resources and interventions
Resource Allocation
measure the status of population at a given
point in time and compare the results
Survey
types of risk factors
Nonmodifiable
Modifiable
ex. of nonmodifiable risk factors
sex, age
ex. of modifiable
behavior or lifestyle
how can epidemiology determine the health of a community
By counting the number of people with specific diseases or poor health habits in an area
Specialties in Epidemiology
Chronic disease
Behavioral
Environmental
Forensic
Genetic
Infectious disease
Injury
Perinatal
Reproductive health
Social epidemiology
Violence
Studies the occurrence and risk factors for disease such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes that are slow to develop but span many years
Chronic disease
Studies lifestyle factors that may be associated with disease status; examples include smoking, lack of physical activity, poor diet
Behavioral
Studies the effect of the environment to human health
Environmental
Studies the joint integration of law enforvement functions and public health in criminal context
(bioterrorism)
Forensic
Studies the role of genetics in disease development, can include infectious or chronic disorder
genetic
studies diseases that are acute and contagious; can include long-lasting diseases that are transmissible
Infectious diseases
Studies the distribution and risk factors for injuries, either accidental or intentional
Injury
Studies health problems of newborns
Perinatal
Studies the normal reproductive processes and problems that can occur, including infertility, birth defects, and low birth weight
Reproductive health
Studies the effect of community socioeconomic factors on health
Social epidemiology
The science of epidemiology is designed to describe the health status of a population to________ , and to serve as a basis to develop prevention and control programs
explain the etiology
Rigorous set of rules to conduct epidemiologic research
Scientific Method
statement based on sound biological theory that can be tested
Hypothesis
it is stated as if there will be NO relationship between the study factors and the outcome
Null hypothesis
true or false: epidemiology involves sound methods of scientific investigation
true
draw on statistical techniques for describing data and evaluating hypotheses, biological principles, and causal theory
Descriptive and analytical methods
characterization of the distribution of health-related states or events
Descriptive Epidemiology
Investigates causes and associations, testing hypotheses, and identifying causes of health- related states or events.
Analytical Epidemiology
Ex of analytical epidemiology
cohort studies, case-control studies)
The Father of Medicine and the First Epidemiologist; used epidemiology principles to understand disease occurrence
HIPPOCRATES (460-377 BC)
First Epidemiologist; Contributed the idea of observation and the terms “epidemic” and “endemic”
HIPPOCRATES (460-377 BC)
normal occurrence of disease in a population
ENDEMIC
Upper end of that normal range
Epidemic threshold
refers to a disease or condition that affects a greater than expected number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time.
EPIDEMIC
geographically widespread epidemic that occurs in more than one continent
PANDEMIC
ex. of PANDEMIC
Plague of Athens, Plague in china spread to Italy, Spanish flu
Developed a vaccine against small pox using cow poxr
Edward Jenner
Developed a vaccine against small pox using cow poxr
Edward Jenner
described the association between dirty water and cholera
John Snow
Described the association between childbed fever, a life-threatening infection contracted by a woman during or shortly a er childbirth, and physicians’unclean hands discovered that handwashing standards in obstetrical clinics could reduce the incidence of puerperal fever
Ignaz Semmelweis
Described the association between childbed fever, a life-threatening infection contracted by a woman during or shortly a er childbirth, and physicians’unclean hands discovered that handwashing standards in obstetrical clinics could reduce the incidence of puerperal fever
Ignaz Semmelweis
Conducted an experiment showing that scurvy can be treated and prevented with limes, lemons and oranges
James Lind
proved that pellagra is not infectious but nutritional in origin and could be prevented by increasing amount of animal products in the diet.
Joseph Goldberger
Personalities:
Edward Jenner
John Snow
Ignaz Semmelweis
James Lind
Joseph Goldberger
Steps to conduct epidemiologic research:
Determine primary agent
Understand causation
Determine characteristics
Mode of transmission
Determine contributing factors
Asses geographic factors
Define natural history
Determine control measures
Determine prevention
Plan health services
Determine hypothesis
