Lecture #1 Overview Epidemiology Exam 1

Question 1

Epidemiology

Answer 1

A public health discipline basic science which studies the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations to control disease and illness and promote health
**focus on prevention/control in populations

Question 2

John Snow

Answer 2

Father of Epidemiology
Made a nearly perfect model for epi research: Broadstreet Cholera Study, he walked door to door for information about where people get their water, mapped the wells and found nearly all victims got water from Broadstreet, had well disabled and cholera cases fell

Question 3

Epidemiology Definition Breakdown

Answer 3

1. population=group of people with common characteristics
2. disease frequency=quantifying how disease arise (define, count, size)
3. distribution=analysis disease patterns (who, where, how)
4. determinants=bring change/difference in persons health (causal and preventative)
5. control=research and survalience

Question 4

Differences Between Physician & Epidemiologist

Answer 4

1. source of data=H&P, surveillance & descriptive epidemiology
2. assessment=differential diagnosis, inference
3. hypothesis testing=diagnostic studies, analytic epidemiology
4. action=treatments, community interventions

Question 5

Epidemiological Assumptions

Answer 5

1. disease occurrence is NOT random
2. systematic investigation of different populations can identify associations and causal/preventative factors & changes changes/adjustments can improve health of population
3. making comparisons is cornerstone of systematic disease assessments and investigations

Question 6

Distribution of Disease

Answer 6

-Frequencies of disease occurrence= counts in relation to the size of the population
-Patterns of disease occurrence= following person, place, time
who involved? where did they come from? when did this happen?
Who/Where/When descriptive epidemiology

Question 7

Determinants of Disease

Answer 7

-factors of susceptibility/exposure/risk
-etiology (cause of disease)
-modes of transmission (social/environmental/biological elements that determine occurrence/presence of disease)
why did you get it and she didn’t? how widespread?
Why/How Analytic Epidemiology

Question 8

Core Functions of Epidemiology

Answer 8

public health surveillance
field investigation
analytic studies
evaluation
linkages
policy development

Question 9

Public Health Surveillance

Answer 9

• portray the ongoing patterns of disease occurrence so that investigation, control and prevention measures can be developed/applied (passive and active measures)
• data interpretation skills
  ex) reportable disease registries (NNDSS/NEDSS), morbidity/mortality/birth registries

Question 10

Field Investigation

Answer 10

determine the source(s) or vehicles of disease of to simple learn more about the natural history, clinical spectrum, descriptive epidemiology (3 W’s), and risk factors of a disease
ex)eggs as a source of salmonella, ebola

Question 11

Analytic Studies

Answer 11

advance the information (hypotheses) generated by descriptive epidemiology techniques

• hallmark of this is use of a comparison group
• design, analysis, interpretation of research data/findings

Question 12

Evaluation

Answer 12

determine as systematically and objectively as possible the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of activities w/respect to established goals

Question 13

Linkages

Answer 13

• critical!

- to collaborate (link) with other professionals

Question 14

Policy Development

Answer 14

• critical!
• provide input, testimony and recommendations regaurding disease control and prevention strategies, reportable disease regulations and health-care policy

Question 15

Epidemiological Approach

Answer 15

1. counting= count cases or health events and describe them in terms of person/place/time (frequencies)
2. dividing= divid # cases by denominator to calc rates/ratios/proportions (percentages)
3. comparing= compare changes in disease over time within or between populations, statisical diff between groups or time points