Course Information Worksheet Prior To Completing This Worksh

Course Information WorksheetPrior To Completing This Worksheet Review

Prior to completing this worksheet, review the Week 1 lecture and reading assignments (Chapters 1-4 of your course text). Provide a complete answer to each question. Each question is worth 5 points. Please cite the source of each answer below the answer as in the example provided below.

Question 1

Define Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary prevention.

Primary prevention involves measures taken to prevent the onset of disease before it occurs, such as immunizations and health education aimed at reducing risk factors. Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and prompt intervention to halt or slow disease progression, such as screening tests and regular health check-ups. Tertiary prevention aims at managing established disease to prevent complications or recurrence, including rehabilitation and chronic disease management strategies.

Source: Last, J.M. (2001). A Dictionary of Epidemiology (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, Chapter 3, p. 72.

Question 2

True or False: Prevention and treatment of a single specific disease are exclusive activities that do not occur together when providing care to a patient.

False.

Source: Gordis, L. (2014). Epidemiology (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier. Chapter 2, p. 20.

Question 3

The ________________ Concept is important because in counting incidence and prevalence of disease it is not sufficient to count only clinically apparent cases, but those who are asymptomatic or exposed without infection.

The Concept of Subclinical or Hidden Cases.

Source: Walker, H., & Whittet, C. (2008). Epidemiology in Public Health Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning, Chapter 4, p. 55.

Question 4

Please define the following:

• Clinical Disease: The stage where symptoms and signs are apparent, making disease evident to both the patient and the clinician.
• Preclinical Disease: The phase where disease is present in the body but symptoms have not yet appeared; detectable through screening or diagnostic tests.
• Subclinical Disease: A stage where disease exists without producing symptoms detectable by the patient or clinician.
• Persistent (Chronic) Disease: A disease that continues over a long period, often with little change in activity, such as chronic arthritis.
• Latent Disease: A form where the infectious agent remains dormant within the host, with no active replication or symptoms, potentially reactivating later.

Source: Last, J.M. (2001). A Dictionary of Epidemiology. Oxford University Press. Chapter 5, p. 130.

Question 5

Match the following terms with their definition:

Source: Krugman, R. (2019). Essentials of Epidemiology for Public Health Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning, Chapter 3, p. 45.

Question 6

What is the one medical advance that is associated with the Black Death in Europe in the late 1300’s?

The development of quarantine measures and the establishment of health boards to control the spread of the plague.

Source: Barker, D. (1977). The Black Death. British Medical Journal, 2(6074), 1390-1391.

Question 7

This is a two-part question:

1. Define, through a fractional representation, what attack rate is.
2. The attack rate is a measure of risk, calculated as the number of new cases divided by the population at risk during a specific period, expressed as a fraction or percentage. Mathematically: Attack Rate = (Number of new cases / Population at risk) × 1.
3. Using the following 2 by 2 table, numerically represent the attack rate for wedding attendees who ate the seafood salad.
4. Gastroenteritis symptomsNo gastroenteritis symptoms Ate Seafood Salad72.. Did not eat Seafood Salad15..
5. Attack rate among those who ate the seafood salad:
6. Attack Rate = (Number of cases among exposed) / (Total exposed) = 72 / (72 + other non-sick exposed) [assuming total exposed is known].
7. Define the following:

• Active surveillance: A proactive approach where health authorities actively seek out cases of disease, such as through contact tracing or testing.
• Passive surveillance: Reliance on healthcare providers to report cases of disease as they are diagnosed, often less comprehensive.
• Incidence rate: The number of new cases of a disease in a specified population during a specified period, often expressed per person-time.
• Prevalence rate: The total number of cases of a disease in a population at a specific point in time or over a period.

Source: Thacker, S.B., & Berkelman, R.L. (1988). Public health surveillance in the United States. Epidemiologic Reviews, 10, 164-190.

Question 8

There are two parts to this question:

1. What are two reasons that the prevalence rate of a disease in a community could decrease?
2. First, effective prevention and control measures, such as vaccination campaigns, can reduce the number of existing cases. Second, improved treatment options can shorten disease duration or cure cases, reducing the total prevalence.
3. What are age-adjusted death rates used for?
4. They allow comparison of mortality rates between populations with different age structures by eliminating the effect of age differences, thus providing a more accurate measure of relative risk associated with various factors.

Question 9

Name and define at least two measures of mortality as fractional representations.

• Crude death rate: The total number of deaths in a population during a specified period divided by the total population, usually expressed per 1,000 or 100,000 individuals.
• Age-specific death rate: The number of deaths in a specific age group divided by the population in that age group, expressing mortality risk within that age segment.

Source: Heasler, T. & Geyer, J. (2002). Epidemiology in Public Health. Brooks/Cole, Chapter 4, p. 98.

References

• Barker, D. (1977). The Black Death. British Medical Journal, 2(6074), 1390-1391.
• Heasler, T., & Geyer, J. (2002). Epidemiology in Public Health. Brooks/Cole.
• Krugman, R. (2019). Essentials of Epidemiology for Public Health Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
• Last, J.M. (2001). A Dictionary of Epidemiology (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Thacker, S.B., & Berkelman, R.L. (1988). Public health surveillance in the United States. Epidemiologic Reviews, 10, 164-190.
• Walker, H., & Whittet, C. (2008). Epidemiology in Public Health Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.