Epidemiology : Definition of Epidemiology, History and Uses of Epideomology ( Complete Guide )
Epidemiology is the study of the frequency, distribution and determinants of diseases and other health related conditions in human populations, and the application of this study to the promotion of health, and to the prevention and control of health problems.
Major Components of The Definition
1. Population.
T he main focus of epidemiology is on the effect of disease on the population rather than individuals. For example malaria affects many people in Ethiopia but lung cancer is rare. If an individual develops lung cancer, it is more likely that he/she will die. Even though lung cancer is more killer, epidemiology gives more emphasis to malaria since it affects many people.
2. Frequency.
This shows that epidemiology is mainly a quantitative science. Epidemiology is concerned with the frequency (occurrence) of diseases and other health related conditions. Frequency of diseases is measured by morbidity and mortality rates.
3. Health related conditions.
Epidemiology is concerned not only with disease but also with other health related conditions because every thing around us and what we do also affects our health. Health related conditions are conditions which directly or indirectly affect or influence health. These may be injuries, births, health related behaviors like smoking, unemployment, poverty etc.
4 . Distribution.
Distribution refers to the geographical distribution of diseases, the distribution in time, and distribution by type of persons affected.
5. Determinants.
Determinants are factors which determine whether or not a person will get a disease.
6. Application of the studies to the promotion of health and to the prevention and control of health problems.
This means the whole aim in studying the frequency, distribution, and determinants of disease is to identify effective disease prevention and control strategies.
History of Epidemiology
Although epidemiological thinking has been traced to the time of Hippocrates, who lived around 5th century B.C., the discipline did not flourish until 1940s.
Hippocrates displayed an extraordinary awareness of the impact of environment and behavior on personal well–being. Hippocrates therefore identified forces that epidemiologists today recognize as major determinants of human health.
There were many other scientists who contributed to the development of epidemiology. One of them was John Snow. In 1849, John Snow, an English physician, formulated and tested a hypothesis concerning the origin of an epidemic of cholera in London. On the basis of the available data snow postulated that cholera was transmitted by contaminated water through a then unknown mechanism. He observed that death rates from cholera were particularly high in areas of London that were supplied with water by the Lambeth Company or the Southwark and Vauxhall Company, both of which drew their water from the Thames River at a point heavily polluted with sewage. Between 1849 and 1854, the Lambeth Company changed its source to an area of the Thames where the water was "quite free from the sewage of London." The rates of cholera declined in those areas of the city supplied by the Lambeth Company, while there was no change in those areas receiving water from the Southwark and VauxhallCompany. Finally, Snow concluded that the source of cholera outbreak was contaminated water.
Uses of Epidemiology
-To make a community diagnosis. Epidemiology helps to identify and describe health problems in a community (formexample, the prevalence of anaemia, or the nutrition status of children).
-To monitor continuously over a period of time the change of health in a community. (for example, the effect of a vaccination programme, health education, nutritional supplementation).
-To practice surveillance for a specific disease in order to be able to act quickly and so cut short any outbreak (example cholera).
-To investigate an outbreak of a communicable disease, analyse the reasons for it, plan a feasible remedy and carry it out, and monitor the effects of the remedy on the outbreak.
-To plan effective health services. Effective services, interventions and remedies all depend on accurate community data.
Thanks For Visiting ! Keep Your Healthy !
0 comments:
Post a Comment