TEST 1 Flashcards
what is epidemiology
-disease states and events in objective, scientific and controlled manner
-screening, intervention, preventing bad health outcomes
-prevalence and incidence
-answers questions
prevalence
-portion of people who have the condition of interest in a population
-how is disease distributed in population (group with common characteristic)
-person, place, time
-point prevalence- # of cases at specific point in time
-period prevalence- # of cases over defined period
-lifetime prevalence- proportion of people who have had disorder at any time during life
incidence rate
-the rapidity with which newly dx cases of disease develop
2 principles epidemiology is based on
-1. disease doesnt occur at random -> things that increase and decrease likelihood
-2. these factors can be identified by systematic investigation of population
sample, sample error
-subgroup within a population
-sample error- natural variability in a population
-ex. measuring bus capacity on a middle school bus -> everyone weighs slightly different
selection bias
-sample is not random -> sample is chosen with subconscious bias
-ex. testing sugar on diabetics but all the diabetics are members from your church
-ex. more female pts in groups bc they reminded the researcher of his mother
validity vs reliability
-validity- accuracy
-reliability- repeatability of test
nominal vs ordinal vs interval data
-nominal- data that has no order -> name
-ex. blood type, eye color
-ordinal data- has a particular order
-ex. pain scale 1-5
-interval data- clear order data point -> mean, mode, median -> precise measurements
sub-disciplines of epidemiology
-disease- cancer, cvd, infectious
-exposure- environmental, genetic, nutritional
-population- clinical, geriatric, pregnant
sequence of epidemiologic investigation
-1. suspect exposure influences a disease (DESCRIPTIVE)
-2. hypothesis (DESCRIPTIVE)
-3. investigation to measure relationship (ANALYTIC/SCIENTIFIC)
-4. judge if relationship is significant -> chance, bias, confounding variables (ANALYTIC/SCIENTIFIC)
-5. evaluate preventions and tx (ANALYTIC/SCIENTIFIC)
confounding variable
-a variable that could also be causing a disease process in addition to the independent variable
-lead to paradoxical results
-ex. giving a drug to deadly cancer pts -> the drug looks like its working poorly but the pts were just really sick
-ex. coffee drinkers have a higher likelihood of CVD -> but coffee drinkers also have a higher likelihood of smoking
-not clear which is causing the result
hypothesis
-1. project the expected assoc between two or more measurable variables
-2. state clear implications for testing stated relations
-advance research
-guide study, variables, sample, analysis, interpretation
-fundamental hypothesis -> operational hypothesis
-ex.Caregivers to relatives with dementia will have a higher incidence of high blood pressure than non-caregivers, mediated through higher levels of stress-related symptoms
2 types of epidemiology
-descriptive -> monitor public health and hypothesizes about causes of disease -> identify and count cases of disease and conduct studies
-case report, case series, cross-sectional study
-ex. is this an outbreak?
-ex. framingham
-surveys- qualitative
-DESCRIBE PATTERNS
-analytic/scientific -> eval hypothesis about causes of disease and eval success of intervention -> compare groups and determine association
-clinical trial, experimental, case-control, cohort
-SEARCH FOR CAUSES AND PREVENTION
framingham study
-5,000
-MA
-1947
-50 years
-every 2 years fu
-nicotine, alcohol, conditions, dietary intake, emotional stress
-3rd generations
sources of data
-WHO- government, NGOs, HMOs, hospitals, researchers
-WHAT- US census, surveys, death certificates, birth certificates, cancer registries, discharge reports, etc.
-STRENGTHS- already exists, established methodology, little or no cost
-WEAKNESS- can be inaccurate, not the data you want, report delays, complicated methodology
