Epidemiology is defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of health and disease in human populations. Basically, what this boils down to is that epidemiology is population based. Epidemiology is increasingly important in medicine and the well being of the population. The insights generated by epidemiology over the past half century have led to the development of a range of specific public health measures designed to improve the health of the population. Epidemiology is the basic science of both preventive medicine and evidence-based practice, and as such is becoming an indispensable tool for clinicians generally and GPs in particular. The epidemiologist attempts to place clinical or other observations in the context of the population
Unlike mortality, morbidity is not a single, unambiguous biological state but a gradient or spectrum of ill health from asymptomatic conditions or risk factors through symptoms of varying severity, to profound disability. Morbidity measures the incidence or prevalence of acute and chronic illness, by cause. Measuring morbidity is relatively easy if all cases present to the NHS. Among the measures of morbidity, two that are particularly useful to policy makers and those purchasing health care are causes of health care expenditures. The leading cause of health care expenditures includes injuries, major depression, arthritis and chronic diseases of major organs including the heart. The number or rate of nonfatal outcomes is not used as often as mortality in assessing disease burden. The only chronic, non-infectious condition for which the United States has national data for incident cases is cancer (Scutchfield & Keck, 2003). Rates of hospitalization are sometimes used to estimate disease burden among a population. Hospitalization rates have the advantage of being relatively easy to obtain and are useful for certain analyses, but are biased indicators of burden for the majority of conditions. For example, the increasing use of outpatient treatment for conditions previously requiring hospitalization can substantially affect the utility of these data for assessing burden. In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of entry hospitalization, followed in order by childbirth, psychoses, pneumonia, cancer, and fractures (Thacker SB, Stroup DF, Carande-Kulis V, Marks JS, Roy K, Gerberding JL, 2006). Patients with fractured femurs or acute schizophrenia, for example, fall into this category because the severity of their clinical condition nearly always dictates admission to hospital (Scutchfield & Keck,
Thus, the high incidence rate is of great public health importance, as it puts increasing strain on the health system and wider sectors, and generates considerable morbidity.
study I am going to go into detail about the epidemiology, discuss the signs and
To better assess the odds of Overnight Hospitalization within our study cohort, we conducted multivariable logistic regression (Table 2). No sociodemographic variables, such as age, gender, or Medicaid coverage, were found to be significant and therefore are not included in Table 2. However, chronic conditions including high blood pressure (OR=1.17, CI: 1.04, 1.31), heart attack (OR=1.42, CI: 1.11-1.56), and CHF (OR=1.68 CI: 1.45, 196) were found to be positively associated with the overnight hospital stays. After adjusting for resident characteristics and health conditions (listed in Table 1), the adjusted odds of overnight hospitalization after arrival to the RCF was 1.29 times greater for patients with CHD than those without CHD (95% CI: 1.10, 1.51). The presence of chronic conditions, particular...
McGlynn, E, Asch, S, Adams, J, Keesey, J, & Hicks, J. (2003). The quality of health care delivered to adults in the united states. The New England Journal of Medicine, 248(26), 2635-2645.
The Center of Disease Control and Prevention performs studies to acquire information about the health and wellness of the general public. Some of these studies include simple censuses that ask people about preexisting conditions, height, weight, age, and their family history and health. They also look to see how certain diseases affect a person’s body and how they can be dealt with. For example, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention would conduct studies of people in different age groups and family history hat already have heart disease. They then look to see if the cause of heart disease in the different age groups is influenced by any particular factors. They have found that the risk of heart disease is increased if a person has a genetic history of heart disease caused by hypercholesterolemia and by ingesting high fat foods, low exercise, and ingesting harmful products like alcohol or tobacco. The main fields that the CDC focuses these studies upon are Diseases and Conditions, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Environmental Health, Life Stages and Populations, Healthy Living, ...
Some of reason that have been suggested that the that United States mortality rates are higher because of higher risk of iatrogenic drugs, drug toxicity, hospital-acquired infections, and that patients have the “do more” attitude but are not explained all the risks (Moses et al., 2013).
As a result of the importance placed on preventive services there is no shortage of studies examining preventive service utilization among various groups. Many studies have examined the factors affecting preventive service use with the most important including age5,6, race/ethnicity7-10, marital status11, and income. 6-8,11-13 The literature has documented disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status in use of preventive services and shown that minorities are generally not as likely as Whites to receive services such as blood pressure checks, cervical cancer screening, and blood cholesterol screening. 14 Other studies have looked at the effects of education 9,15,16, usual source of care 15, and insurance 17-20 on the utilization of preventive services. While still other studies have sought to explore the role of health status 15, health beliefs 19, region of United States and whether a person lives in an urban or rural environment. 8
Fani Marvasti, F., & Stafford, R. S. (2012). From Sick Care to Health Care — Reengineering Prevention into the U.S. System. New England Journal of Medicine, 367(10), 889-891. doi: doi:10.1056/NEJMp1206230
National health systems are assessed by the extent to which expenditure and actions in public health and medical care contributes to the crucial social goals of improving health, increasing access to quality healthcare, reducing health disparities, protecting citizens from penury due to medical e...
Even though we have done important things for the treatment, control and prevention of infectious diseases, there are still emerging infectious diseases that are a big problem. One such problem is the relationship between ecology and epidemiology. Ecology is the study of the economy of nature, while epidemiology is the study of the distribution of disease, or other health-related conditions and events in human or animal populations, in order to identify health problems and possible causes. Both of these help to collect data from the field and try to understand how certain organisms survive in their
Conversely, the number of individuals suffering from a major chronic illness face countless hindrance in managing their condition is increasing, not the least of which is medical care that frequently does not meet their needs for effective clinical management, psychological support, and information. The principal reason for this could possibly be the disparity between their needs and care delivery systems essentially intended for acute illness. Evidence of effective system changes that improve chronic care is escalating (Bruce, 2001; Clark et al., 2000; Joint National Committee on Prevention, 1997; Legoretta et al., 2000; Wagner et al., 2001; Young et al., 2001).
In an effort to analyze the natural history of a disease, an epidemiological triangle is used. An epidemiological triangle is comprised of a susceptible host or individual, environment, and a causative agent. The host tends to have low immunity, poor nutrition, and a concurrent disease. The host tends to have poor
To say that the U.S. health care system is inadequately run, is an understatement. Today’s society faces many shortcomings when utilizing health care in the United States and some of these inadequacies include diminishing
First, 3 to 5% of the population is high risk patients who have “at least one complex illness, multiple comorbidities, and psychosocial problems” that require complex, expensive care. (2013). Managers suggest hospitals provide low-cost intensive care management rather than expensive acute care, and coordinate care with other organizations. (2013). Second, 20 to 30% of the population is rising-risk patients who have multiple risk factors associated with chronic disease that require care to prevent worsening risk. (2013). Managers recommend providers eliminate underlying risk factors rather than simply treat the disease, which would essentially move hospital patients into medical homes for coordinate care. (2013). Third, 70% of the population is low-risk patients who have a well-managed chronic condition or who are healthy seeking “convenient access to the services they need the most.”
Over two thirds of deaths in each year among estimated yearly deaths are due to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetics, cancer and upper res...