Epidemiological Indicators

Register to read the introduction… They are beneficial in describing and measuring the effects a disaster has on a population. These measurements can later be used to determine the effect of the relief responses. Epidemiological indicators are categorized as quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative indicators are determined by concrete numeric information such as the number of people affected. Examples of quantitative indicators are prevalence, incidence, morbidity rate and mortality rate. Qualitative indicators are used to determine if the actions are producing the desired outcome or if something needs to be changed. Coverage, access and quality of services are qualitative indicators that should be defined. The quantitative measures related to the SARS outbreak were focused on the number of affected people, the location of these people and mutual contacts. Initially, it was more prevalent in people in China that came in contact with an infected individual on the ninth floor of a hotel, healthcare workers that cared for these patients and family members. After identifying the coronavirus was responsible for the disease, they were able to monitor the morbidity rate of people infected by this virus. They also could determine the mortality rate, or number of people that died, as a result of SARS.
The delay from China to notify WHO of the outbreak significantly impacted the spread of SARS …show more content…
The leaders of China were in a significant position to manage the collective efficacy of their community and could have contained the spread of SARS had they acted sooner on reporting the number of reported cases. Collective efficacy has a direct correlation to the collective reaction of a community to an outbreak similar to SARS. Collective efficacy is an “activated process that seeks to achieve an intended effect” (Fong & Chang, 2011, p. 798). This directly impacts mutual trust and a community’s adherence to guidelines and protocols communicated from those in a leadership role. Without this mutual trust, individuals tend to focus on more what is good for them rather than the community as a …show more content…
The rampant spread of the 2003 SARS outbreak impacted many different areas within affected countries and the rest of the world. One of the initial impacts was seen in the healthcare sections in the infected areas. SARS was spreading quickly throughout hospitals and infecting healthcare providers because effective protocols had not been established. If this was not resolved, it could have resulted in a shortage of healthy providers to care for the sick. In addition to this, having infected healthcare professionals that were not properly isolated and treated could easily spread this disease to larger populations of people such as patients and their