Overview of Epidemiology Flashcards
Who is the “Father of Epidemiology”
John Snow
Describe the initial study John Snow conducted, now regarded as the beginning of epidemiology
Cholera outbreak, he studied water sources and narrowed it down to Broad St. pump
Define Epidemiology
A public health basic science studying the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specific populations to control disease and illness and promote health
Name the 6 objectives/activities of epidemiology
- Identify patterns/trends
- Determine extent
- Study natural course
- Identify the causes of, or risk factors for
- Evaluate effectives of measures
- Assist in developing public health policy
What are the three assumptions of epidemiology
- Disease occurrence is not random
- Systematic investigation of different populations can identify associations and causal/preventative factors and impact of changes can impart on health of population
- Making comparisons is the cornerstone of systematic disease and assessments/investigations
What does Distribution of Disease measure?
- Frequencies of disease occurrences – counts in relation to size of population
- Person, Place, Time
What do Determinants of Disease measure?
- Factors of Susceptibility/Exposure/Risk
- Etiology
- Mode of Transmission
- Social/Environmental/Biologic elements that determine the occurrence/presence of disease
* Why and How (Analytic)*
Name the 6 Core Functions of Epidemiology
- Public health surveillance
- Field investigation
- Analytic studies
- Evaluation
- Linkages
- Policy development
Describe Public Health Surveillance
Portray ongoing patterns of disease occurrence, so investigations, control and prevention measures can be developed and applied
What are the key skills of public health surveillance?
- Designing and using data collection instruments
- Data management via descriptive methods and graphing/presentation reporting
- Data interpretation
- Scientific writing and presentation (CDC/MMWR)
What is the CDC
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
What is the MMWR
Under the CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
What is the NNDSS
Under the CDC, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
Describe Field Investigation
Determine sources/vehicles of disease; learn more about natural history, clinical spectrum, descriptive epidemiology, and risk factors of a disease
“Boots on the ground”
Describe Analytic Studies
Advance the information (hypotheses) generated by descriptive epidemiology techniques
What is the hallmark of analytic studies?
Use of a comparison group
What are the key skills of analytic studies?
Design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, and communication of research study data and findings
Describe Evaluation
Systematically and objectively determine relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of activities
Describe Linkages
Collaborate/Communicate with other public health and healthcare professionals (as well as the public)
Describe Policy Development
Provide input, testimony, recommendations regarding disease control and prevention strategies, reportable disease regulations and health-care policy
What is the epidemiological approach?
- Counting (Frequencies)
- Dividing (Percentages)
- Comparing
What does it mean to count?
Counting “cases”/health events and describing them in terms of person, place and time
What does it mean to divide?
Dividing # of cases by an appropriate denominator to calculate rates, ratios, and proportions
Standardized and unstandardized populations
What does it mean to compare?
- Compare changes in disease over time as well as absolute/relative changes and differences within/between populations
- Compare statistical differences between groups or time points
