Week 2 Assignment on Descriptive Epidemiology

Descriptive epidemiology deals with describing disease patterns using three major categories: person, place, or time (Friis & Sellers, 2014). Consider the following examples:

ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED SOLUTION PAPERS

Infectious Disease Example: The six patients infected with E. coli from a lettuce contamination outbreak were all residents of Alcan City, Florida. Aside from the six patients who sought treatment, epidemiologists tracked down and conducted interviews with 400 of the fair attendees to identify any potential cases who did not seek treatment and compare data with those who attended but did not become ill. Interview questions pertained to descriptive aspects of the outbreak (person, place, and time). Analysis of data collected on foods eaten allowed the epidemiologists to narrow to sandwiches served by Sam’s Sandwich Food Truck at the fair on Saturday. Alcan City public health officials were quick to visit the food truck to inquire into their food management and handling. The food truck owner was cooperative and helpful in providing licensing, permits, operations, and sales information.

Chronic Disease Example: Jason Sims was born in 1967 in Houston, Texas. His asthma began at an early age when he practiced baseball. His asthma became more intense as he entered adulthood. He started treating his condition at age 26. About one in 12 people (or about 25 million) have asthma, and the numbers are increasing every year (CDC, 2011). Asthma is the leading chronic disease in children, where asthma is more common in young boys than girls. But, asthma is more common in adult women than adult men. African-Americans have a poorer prognosis, with a higher mortality rate from asthma than any other race or ethnicity (AAFA, 2019).

This week, you will describe a health issue in terms of person, place and time. You also will evaluate data sources and data quality in epidemiological studies. Finally, you will identify terms and concepts relating to descriptive epidemiology.

Reference

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). (2019). Asthma facts and figures. Retrieved from https://www.aafa.org/asthma-facts/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2011). Asthma in the US: Growing every year. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/asthma/index.html

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Apply descriptive epidemiology to describe health issues

Evaluate data sources and data quality in epidemiological studies

Identify terms and concepts relating to descriptive epidemiology

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Friis, R. H., & Sellers, T. A. (2014). Epidemiology for public health practice (5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Chapter 3, “Measures of Morbidity and Mortality Used in Epidemiology” (pp. 108–144)

Chapter 4, “Descriptive Epidemiology: Person, Place, Time” (pp. 157–233)

Optional Readings

Friis, R. H., & Sellers, T. A. (2014). Epidemiology for public health practice (5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.