Pop health management

Question 1

Describe the scientific basis for epidemiology

Question 2

Explain distribution, frequency, patterns, determinants, exposures, and outcomes

Answer 2

Distribution - focused on the frequency and patterns of health events in a population
Frequency - number of events, rate or risk of disease
Patterns - person, place, time
Determinants - causes and other factors that influence disease
Exposures and outcomes (in clinical terms, analogous to treatment and effects

Question 3

Describe core epidemiologic functions

Answer 3

• public health surveillance
• field investigations
• analytic studies
• programmatic evaluation
• policy development

Question 4

Define endemic disease

Answer 4

Baseline level of disease typically found in a community for a disease that is habitually present in that community

Question 5

Describe characteristics of outbreak patterns

Answer 5

transmission from one person to another (propagated outbreak)
- foodborne outbreaks
Continuous common source - exposure occurs over time from a common source

Question 6

Illustrate the use of rates in epidemiology

Answer 6

Serial intervals - time between successive cases - intervals between clinical onset of disease
Incubation period - amount of time between initial contact with the agent and the onset of disease)

If serial intervals are less than incubation period it can indicate that the disease may be transmitted prior to onset of symptoms

Question 7

Define hyperendemic disease

Answer 7

persistent, high levels of disease

Question 8

Define sporadic

Answer 8

a disease that occurs infrequently and irregularaly

Question 9

Define epidemic

Answer 9

increase in number of cases of disease above what is expected in the population

Question 10

Define pandemic

Answer 10

global epidemic - spreads over several countries or continents