Section 2: Intro to Epidemiology (Student Notes)

Question 1

What are the steps of a Public Health Approach to a problem

Answer 1

1. Surveillance (what is problem?)
2. Risk Factor Identification (what is cause?)
3. Intervention Evaluation (what works?)
4. Implementation (how do you do it?)

Question 2

Define Epidemiology

Answer 2

Study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states among specified populations and the application of that study to the control of health problems

Question 3

What are the steps for solving health problems?

Answer 3

1. Data collection (surveillance, determine time/place/person)
2. Assessment (interference)
3. Hypothesis testing (determine how and why)
4. Action (intervention)

Question 4

epidemic or outbreak

Answer 4

disease occurrence among a population that is in excess of what is expected in a given time and place

Question 5

cluster

Answer 5

group of cases in a specific time and place that might be more than expected

Question 6

endemic

Answer 6

disease or condition present among a population at all times

Question 7

pandemic

Answer 7

a disease or condition that spreads across regions

Question 8

rate

Answer 8

number of cases occurring during a specific period; always dependent on the size of the population during that period

Question 9

What is the purpose/role of rates in epidemiology?

Answer 9

Rates help us compare health problems among different populations that include two or more groups
who differ by a selected characteristic

Question 10

How is rate calcuated?

Answer 10

(number of cases) divided by (population at risk) times (100) = percentage/rate

Question 11

What are the two types of epidemiological studies?

Answer 11

Experimental and Observational

Question 12

What are the two types of observational studies?

Answer 12

Analytic and Descriptive

Question 13

What does analytic epidemiology attempt to answer?

Answer 13

1. How was the population affected?

2. Why was the population affected?

Question 14

What does descriptive epidemiology attempt to answer?

Answer 14

1. When was the population affected?
2. Where was the population affected?
3. Who was affected?

Question 15

What are typical methods of collecting data for an epidemiological study from individuals?

Answer 15

questionnaires, surveys

Question 16

What are typical methods of collecting data for an epidemiological study from the environment?

Answer 16

1. Samples from the environment (river water, soil)

2. Sensors for environmental changes

Question 17

What are typical methods of collecting data for an epidemiological study from health care providers?

Answer 17

Notifications to health department if cases of certain diseases are observed

Question 18

What are typical methods of collecting data for an epidemiological study from nonhealth–related
sources (e.g., financial, legal)

Answer 18

sales records, court records

Question 19

How are cross-sectional studies designed?

Answer 19

Subjects are selected because they are members of a certain population subset at a certain time

Question 20

How are cohort studies designed?

Answer 20

Subjects are categorized on the basis of their

exposure to one or more risk factors

Question 21

How are case-control studies designed?

Answer 21

Subjects identified as having a disease or condition are compared with subjects without the same disease or condition