Lesson 5: Descriptive Epidemiology Flashcards
What does Descriptive epidemiology use and what does it cover?
the 5 Ws and H
it covers, time, place and person
What does each W and H refer to?
Who -> Person/population
What -> Health issue of concern
Where -> Place
When -> Time
Why/How -> Cuases, Risk Factors, Modes of Transmission
What are some types of time trends that exist?
Secular, Seasonal, Day of Week and Time of Day,
What is a secular time trend?
Annual cases or rates of disease over period of years
What is seasonality time trend?
Graphed by week, month or course of a year. May give info to how infection is transmitted what behavioural factors increase risk and other possible contributors
What are Day of Week and Time of Day trends used for ?
to give insight to occupational or environmental exposures
What is an epidemic curve?
a graph used to show the time course of a disease outbreak or epidemic
What does place in descriptive epidemiology provide insight to?
the geographical extent of the problem and its geographic variation
What is the most important person attribute?
Age
What is on the y axis of an epidemic curve?
the number of cases
Which sex has hgiher rates of illness and death?
males
Why do males have higher rates of illness and death than females for many diseases?
genetic, hormonal, anatomic, or other inherent differences
What is on the x axis of the epidemic curve?
shows time as either the date at which symptoms were evident or the date of diagnosis
How can place is displayed?
as a table, map or spot map
place can refer to a place category such as
urban or rural
