Week 2 - Epidemiology Principles, Methods, and Applications Flashcards
What are the 5 core sciences of public health
Prevention effectiveness, epidemiology, laboratory, informatics, and surveillance
What is epidemiology
The study of distribution and determinants of health-related phenomena inhuman populations and the application of this study to control health problems
What are the 4 purposes of epidemiology
- Discover the agent, host, and environmental factors that affect heath
- Determine relative important of causes of illness, disability, and death
- Identify those segments of the population that have the greatest risk from specific causes of ill health
- Evaluate the effectiveness of health programs and services in improving population health
What is an epidemic or outbreak
Higher occurrence of disease in given time and place than what is expected
What is a cluster
A group of cases in specific time and place that might be more than expected
What is endemic
Disease or condition present among a population at all times
What is a pandemic
A disease or condition that spreads across regions
What is rate
Number of cases occurring during a scientific period; always dependent on the size of the population during that period
What 3 patterns of disease make up distribution
Person, place, and time
What is another word for determinants
Exposures
What is morbidity
Illness due to a specific disease or health condition
What is mortality
Deaths from various causes
What are the 7 key activities of epidemiology
- Meticulous description
- Comparison of groups
- Investigation
- Interpretation
- Understanding the limitations of data and the sources of bias in observations
- Drawing causal inferences
- Creating and evaluating interventions
What are the 4 characteristics of routinely available data
Collected, analyzed, presented to assess populations health or patterns of disease, and used to observe and describe
What are the 5 values of routine data
Readily available, low cost, useful to identify hypothesis, useful for initial assessment, and provides baseline data on expected levels of health/disease
What are 4 limitations of routine data
Not always up-to-date, lack of completeness (except census), some variables of internets may not be collected, and occasionally subject to political influences and manipulation
What are 4 sources of routinely available data
Demographic data, mortality data, morbidity data, and health facilities usage data
What is the main source of demographic data
Census data - informs legislation and diplomacy and helps determine allocation of resources
What are kinds of mortality data
Civil registration and vital statistics/birth death and marriage records - allow for international comparison of patterns of fertility and mortality