Chapter 8: Epidemiological Applications In Community Health Nursing

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agent

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causative factor invading a susceptible host through an environment favorable to produce disease, such as a biologic or chemical agent

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analytical epidemiology

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a form of epidemiology that investigates causes and associations between factors or events and health

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attack rate

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a type of incidence rate defined as the proportion of persons eposed to an agent who develop the disease, usually for a limited time in a specific population

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bias

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in determining causalit, a systematic error due to the way the study is designed, how it was carried out, or some factors related to the variable(s) being studied

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case-control study

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an epidemiologic study design in which subjects with a specified disease or condition and a comparable group

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causality

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the determination based on evidence or reasoning process that an event or state resulted from (or was caused by) some other events, exposure, characteristics, or a combination of them

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cohort study

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an epidemiologic study design in which subjects without an outcome of interest are classified according to past or present (or future) exposures or characteristics and followed over time to observe and compare the rates of a particular health outcome in the various exposure groups

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confounding

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a bias that results from the realtion of both the outcome and study factor (exposure or charateristic) with some third factor not considered in analysis

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cross-sectional study

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a study in which health outcomes and exposures or characterisitcs of interest are simultaneously ascertained and examined for associtation in a population or sample, providing a picture of existing levels of all factors

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cyclical time patterns of disease

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one example is seasonal fluctuation of disases

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descriptive epidemiolgoy

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a form of epidemiology that describes a disease according to its person, place, or time

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deteminants

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factors that influence the risk for or distribution of health outcomes

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distribution

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pattern of a health outcome in a population; the frequencies of the outcome according to various personal characteristics, geographic regions, and time

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environment

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all factors internal and external to a clinet that constitute the context in which the client lives and that influence and are influeneced by the host and agent-host interactions

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epidemic

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a rate of disease clearly in excess of the usual or expected freq in that population

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epidemiology

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study of the distribution and factors that determine health related states or events in a population, and the use of this info to control health probs

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event-related cluster

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disease patterns measure from a point of exposure, event, or experience

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host

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human or animal that provides adequate living conditions for any given infectious agent

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incidence rate

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the freq or rate of new cases of an outcome in a pop; provides an estimate of the risk of disease in tha population over the period of observation

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levels of prevention

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a 3 level model of interventions based on the stages of disease, designed to halt or reverse the process of pathological change as early as possible, therby preventing damage

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natural history of disease

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course or progression of a disease process from onset to resolution

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negative predictive value

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proportion of persons with a negative test who are disease free

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point epidemic

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a concentration in space and time of a disease event, such that a graph of freq of cases over time shows a sharp point, usually suggestive of a common exposure

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positive predictive value

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proportion of persons with a positive screening of diagnostic test who do have the disease

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prevalence rate

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the proportion of existing cases of a health outcome in a population at a given time

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primary prevention

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a type of intervetntion that seeks to promote health and prevent disease from developing

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rate

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a measure of the frequency of a health event in a defined population during a specified period of time

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reliability

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refers to the precision of a measuring instrument, specifically its consistency from one time of use to another and its accuracy

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risk

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the probability of some event r outcome within a specified period of time

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screening

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application of a test to people who are as yet asymptomatic for the purpose of classifying them with respect to thie likelihood of having a particular disease

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secular trends

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long-term patterns of morbidity or mortality

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epidemiology

Back 32

study of the distribution and factors that determine health related states or events in a population, and the use of this info to control health probs

Front 33

event-related cluster

Back 33

disease patterns measure from a point of exposure, event, or experience

Front 34

host

Back 34

human or animal that provides adequate living conditions for any given infectious agent

Front 35

incidence rate

Back 35

the freq or rate of new cases of an outcome in a pop; provides an estimate of the risk of disease in tha population over the period of observation

Front 36

levels of prevention

Back 36

a 3 level model of interventions based on the stages of disease, designed to halt or reverse the process of pathological change as early as possible, therby preventing damage

Front 37

natural history of disease

Back 37

course or progression of a disease process from onset to resolution

Front 38

negative predictive value

Back 38

proportion of persons with a negative test who are disease free

Front 39

point epidemic

Back 39

a concentration in space and time of a disease event, such that a graph of freq of cases over time shows a sharp point, usually suggestive of a common exposure

Front 40

positive predictive value

Back 40

proportion of persons with a positive screening of diagnostic test who do have the disease

Front 41

prevalence rate

Back 41

the proportion of existing cases of a health outcome in a population at a given time

Front 42

primary prevention

Back 42

a type of intervetntion that seeks to promote health and prevent disease from developing

Front 43

rate

Back 43

a measure of the frequency of a health event in a defined population during a specified period of time

Front 44

reliability

Back 44

refers to the precision of a measuring instrument, specifically its consistency from one time of use to another and its accuracy

Front 45

risk

Back 45

the probability of some event r outcome within a specified period of time

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screening

Back 46

application of a test to people who are as yet asymptomatic for the purpose of classifying them with respect to thie likelihood of having a particular disease

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sensitivity

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the extent to which a test identifies those individuals who have the condition being examined

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specificity

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the extent to which a test identifies those individuals who have the condition being examined

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specificity

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the extent to which a test identifies those individuals who do not have the disease or condition being examined

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surveillance

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systematic and ongoing observation and collection of data concerning disease occurrence in order to describe phenomena and detet changes in freqency or distribution

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tertiary prevention

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intervention that begins once the disease is obvious; the aim is to interrupt the course of the disease, reduce the amount of disability that might occur, and begin rehabilitation

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validity

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the acuracy of a test or measurement; how closely it measure what it claims to measure. In a screening test, validitiy is assessed in terms of the probability of correctly classifying an individual with regard to the disease or outcome of interest, usually in terms of sensitivity and specificity

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web of causality

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complex interrelations of factors interacting with each other to influence the risk for or distribution of health outcomes