PHC 4030 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Public Health, Mortality Rate, Epidemiology
PHC 4030
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Chapter 1: Overview of Epidemiology
• Epidemiology: the study of the distribution and determinants of health and diseases,
morbidity, injuries, disability, and mortality in populations
o Distribution
▪ Diseases not occur randomly
▪ Variation between subgroups in the population
• Some subgroups have increased rates of adverse health
outcomes
o Ex: people with fair skin are more likely to develop skin
cancer
▪ Our role is to find out what is different about those with the disease
o Determinants: a factor that brings about a change in a health condition or
other defined characteristics
▪ Biological agents (bacteria or viruses), chemical agents (chlorine or
smoke), or other factors (stress, lifestyle factors)
▪ Exposure: contact with a disease-causing factor
• Ex: smoking, alcohol, obesity
• Multiple exposures may play a role in one disease
o Population: all the inhabitants of a given area together
▪ US citizens, USF students, smokers, single mothers, vehicle owners,
etc.
▪ Some population subgroups have poorer health outcomes
• Smokers (lung cancer), obesity (diabetes), African American
women (low birth weight infants)
• Epidemiology is used to identify the causes and treatments of health problems in
populations
o Interested in disease as well as obesity, maternal and child health, and other
different health behaviors such as alcohol use, seatbelt use, texting and
driving, etc.
• Medicine is concerned with individuals where as epidemiology is concerned with
populations
• Epidemiology identifies the causes and treatment of health problems in human
populations
o Factors causing disease and factors that help prevent disease
• Main questions asked: what is the disease? Where is the disease most prevalent?
When is the disease occurring? Why is the disease occurring?
• Outcome
o All possible results that stem from exposure to a casual factor
o Variety
▪ Morbidity (illness)
• A person may have more than one at the same time
▪ Mortality (death)
▪ Violence
▪ Affects of exercises
▪ Vaccination
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▪ Diet
• Quantification
o Counting of cases of illness or other health outcomes
▪ Uses statistical measures
• Describes the occurrence of health outcomes
• Measure the association of outcomes with exposures in
different groups
▪ Quantifies variation of diseases and health outcomes according to
subgroups of the population
• Natural history of disease
o The course of a disease from the beginning to the end without any clinical
intervention
▪ Pre-pathogenesis: before the disease agent interacts with the host
▪ Pathogenesis: after an agent has interacted with a host
o Three modes of prevention
▪ Primary: prevention of a disease before it occurs
• Targets pre-pathogenesis
▪ Secondary: activities to limit the progression of disease
• Occurs during early stages of pathogenesis
▪ Tertiary: programs to restore patient’s functioning
• Occurs in the later stages of pathogenesis
o Epidemiology is used to identify and evaluate intervention strategies
o Overall goal of public health prevention is to prevent disease or decrease the
negative impact of disease
• Epidemiology
o Used to identify and evaluate intervention strategies
▪ Helps with health promotion, alleviation of adverse health outcomes,
and prevention of diseases
▪ Examples: infectious diseases, chronic diseases
o Lessons learned and skills acquired through epidemiology:
▪ Scientific method, increase ability to think critically, increase
understanding of statistics, and improve communication skills
o Observational science:
▪ Epidemiology capitalizes on naturally occurring situations
▪ Epidemiologists observe exposure and outcomes among people in the
real world
• Ex: people choose to smoke and they are observed to see the
outcomes
▪ Differs from laboratory science where the researcher is in control of
exposure
• Rats are selected to be exposed or not exposed to cigarette
smoke
o Interdisciplinary science: it uses information from many fields including:
▪ Mathematics and biostats, history, sociology, demography and
geography, behavioral sciences, law
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