404 ch 1

CHAPTER 1: 


EPIDEMIOLOGY: 

  • the distribution and determinants of health and diseases, morbidity, injuries, disabilities, and morbidity in populations 

EPIDEMIC: 

  • the occurrence in a population or region of cases of an illness, health related behavior, or health events in excess of normal expectancy

Pandemic:

  •  an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a wide area crossing international boundaries, usually affecting a large number of people (ex: influenza, covid)

Population: 

  • all the inhabitants of a given country or area considered together 

  • Demographic transition: 

  • Epidemiologic transition: 

Exposure: 

  • pertains to contact with a disease causing factor or to the amount of the factor that impinges upon a group or individuals 

Determinant: 

  • any factor that brings about change in health condition or other defined characteristic 

  • Causes: physical stress, chemical, 

Distribution: 

  • the occurrence of diseases and other health outcomes varies in populations w/ some subgroups of the population more frequently affected by others  

Disease management: 

  • reducing healthcare costs by providing integrated care for chronic conditions (heart disease, hypotension, diabetes) 

Morbidity: 

  • illness due to a disease 

Mortality: 

  • death 

Risk assessment: 

  • methodology used to provide quantitative measurements of risk to health 

Risk:

  •  probability that an event will occur 

Risk factor

  • : an exposure that’s associated w/ disease, morbidity, mortality, health conditions 

Interdisciplinary science: 

Miasmatic theory of disease: 

  • an explanation for infectious diseases was the miasmatic theory of diseases which held that disease was transmitted by a miasm, or cloud that clung low on the earth’s surface 

Natural experiment: 

  • “Naturally occurring circumstances in which subsets of the populations have different levels of exposure to causal factor in a situation resembling an actual experiment, nonrandom”  

Observational science: 

  • capitalizes on naturally occurring situations in order to study the occurrence of disease 

Operations research outcome:

Quantification:

  •  refers to counting the cases of illness or other health outcomes 


Additional review questions: 


  1. Difference between epidemic and pandemic?

    1. Epidemic refers to the occurrence in a population or region of a certain disease or illness, while pandemic refers to an epidemic happening worldwide. 

  2. Difference between morbidity and mortality? 

    1. Morbidity refers to illness of disease, and mortality refers to death  

  3. Define primary, secondary, tertiary prevention. Give some examples of each type of prevention. 

    1. Primary: before the disease or conditions occurs or is diagnosed by preventing a condition or diseases by influencing its precursors

      1. Ex: controlling blood pressure that is elevated 

    2. Secondary: during progression of the diseases, focusing on individuals and not populations. Involves preventing the progression of a condition once it has been defected and the management of a condition as early as possible 

      1. Controlling blood pressure that is elevated in person w/ heart disease 

    3. Tertiary: during later stages of the diseases to improve or maintain the quality of life for someone with a disease, disability, or complication. Does not impact the progression of a disease but can lessen the diease’s impact on the individual.

      1. Managing blood pressure after a heart attack 

  4. What was the significance of the Tuskegee study?

  5. What are some examples of public health related field that epidemiology methods can be applied to?

  6. What is meant by casual association?

  7. What are the key characteristics of epidemiology?

  8. What are current uses of epidemiology? 


People and their contributions to epidemiology: 

  1. John Graunt: 

    1. First to employ quantitative methods 

    2. Known as columbus of statistics 

    3. Published: natural & political observations 

  2. Alexander fleming: 

    1. Discovered the antimicrobial properties of the mold penicillium notatum in 1928 

  3. Robert koch:

    1. Demonstrated the association b/w a microorganism and a disease 

  4. Edward jenner:

    1. Developed a methods of smallpox vaccination (cowpox)  

  5. John snow:

    1. Innovates several epidemiologic methods that remains valid and in use today 

    2. Believed that cholera was transmitted by contaminated water, and formulated a theory of causation/transmission of disease 

  6. Hippocrates:

    1. Said that disease can be caused by the environment and by health practices 

  7. Paracelsus:

    1. One of the founders of toxicology 

    2. Contributions: dose-response relationship and the notion of target organ specify of chemicals  

  8. Sir percival pott: 

    1. First person to describe an environmental cause of cancer 

  9. Ramazzini:

    1. Regarded as founder of occupational medicine 

    2. Authored: de morbis artificum diatriba 

  10. William farr: 

    1. Developed a more sophisticated system for codifying medical conditions

    2. Examined possible linkage between mortality rates and population dentistry 

  11. Contemporary Era: (1940-present) 

    1. William carter jenkins: african american recruited to us public health 

    2. Exposed and contributed to the end of TUskegee syphilis 

    3. Recent innovations: discovery of cervical cancer, bacterium and peptic ulcers, genetic factors and cancer 


  1. What was the significance of the Tuskegee study?

    1.  william carter jenkins exposed and contributed to the end of the tuskegee study

    2. study that observed the natural progression of untreated syphilis in African American men in Tuskegee, Alabama

    3. Unethical and caused mistrust in the healthcare field 

  2. What are some examples of public health related fields that epidemiolgic methods can be applied to?

    1. Infectious disease

    2. Chronic disease

    3. Environmental 

    4. Maternity and child  

  3. What’s meant by casual association?

    1. refers to a relationship between two variables where one variable (the cause) directly influences the occurrence of a health outcome (the effect)

  4. What are key characteristics of epidemiology

    1. Prevention and control

    2. Study of casualty 

    3. Study disease distribution 

    4. Identify determinants and  risk factors 

  5. What are current uses of epidemiology? 

    1. Historical: documents patterns and causes of morbidity and mortality over time 

    2. Community health

    3. Health services: study working of health services with a view to their improvement 

    4. Risk assessment: to estimate from the group experience what are the individual risks on average of disease and chances of avoiding them  

    5. Disease causality 


Know incidence, #1 type of cancer in men and women, and mortality for both and socioeconomic status