GROUP MEMBERS:

BENERADO, CHRISTIAN KENT S.

BATAYOLA KIM TARA MAE
ERASMO, JOHN PHILIP
RICH, THAMARA
TAGA-AN, JOHN FERNANDO

1. WHAT IS EPIDEMIOLOGY

Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns
and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined populations.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidence-based practice by
identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive healthcare. Epidemiologists help
with study design, collection, and statistical analysis of data, amend interpretation and
dissemination of results (including peer review and occasional systematic review). Epidemiology
has helped develop methodology used in clinical research, public health studies, and, to a lesser
extent, basic research in the biological sciences.

2. WHAT DOES DISTRIBUTION MEAN IN EPIDEMIOLOGY?

In the definition of epidemiology, “distribution” refers to descriptive epidemiology, while
“determinants” refers to analytic epidemiology. So “distribution” covers time (when), place
(where), and person (who), whereas “determinants” covers causes, risk factors, modes of
transmission (why and how).

3. WHAT DOES FREQUENCY MEAN IN EPIDEMIOLOGY?

Frequency refers not only to the number of health events such as the number of cases of
meningitis or diabetes in a population, but also to the relationship of that number to the size of
the population. The resulting rate allows epidemiologists to compare disease occurrence across
different populations.

4. WHAT DOES PATTERN MEAN IN EPIDEMIOLOGY?

Pattern refers to the occurrence of health-related events by time, place, and person. Time
patterns may be annual, seasonal, weekly, daily, hourly, weekday versus weekend, or any other
breakdown of time that may influence disease or injury occurrence. Place patterns include
geographic variation, urban/rural differences, and location of work sites or schools. Personal
characteristics include demographic factors which may be related to risk of illness, injury, or
disability such as age, sex, marital status, and socioeconomic status, as well as behaviors and
environmental exposures.
Characterizing health events by time, place, and person are activities of descriptive
epidemiology, discussed in more detail later in this lesson.

5. WHAT DOES DETERMINANTS MEAN IN EPIDEMIOLOGY?

It generally includes the causes (including agents), risk factors (including exposure to sources),
and modes of transmission, but does not include the resulting public health action.

6. WHAT ARE THE USES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY?

* to identify the cause or causes of diseases and the risk factors

* to study the natural history and prognosis of disease
* to provide a scientific foundation for regularoty decisions relating to health or environmental
problems
* to provide a clue to changes taking place over time
* to provide the appropriate types of prevention
* to identify subgroups in the population who are at high risk for disease

7. WHAT ARE THE LEADING CAUSES OF HEALTH IN THE PHILIPPINES?

The leading causes of death are diseases of the heart, diseases of the vascular system,
pneumonias, malignant neoplasms/cancers, all forms of tuberculosis, accidents, COPD and allied
conditions, diabetes mellitus, nephritis/nephritic syndrome and other diseases of respiratory
system.

8. WHAT ARE THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH WORLDWIDE?

These include hypertension (high blood pressure); coronary heart disease (heart attack);
cerebrovascular disease (stroke); heart failure; and other heart diseases. Cardiovascular disease is
the top cause of death globally.

9. WHAT ARE THE CORE EPIDEMIOLOGIC FUNCTIONS?

Five major tasks of epidemiology in public health practice were identified: public health
surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluation, and linkages.

10. DEFINE PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

Public health surveillance is according to the World Health Organization (WHO), "the
continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data needed for
the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice."

11. DEFINE FIELD INVESTIGATION IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

Epidemiologic field investigations are often done in response to acute public health problems.
When outbreaks of disease occur, there usually is an urgent need to identify the source or cause
of the problem as a basis for control.
12. Define Analytic Studies in Epidemiology
Analytic epidemiologic studies measure the association between a particular exposure and a
disease, using information collected from individuals, rather than from the aggregate population.

13) DEFINE EVALUATION IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

Evaluation in epidemiology to create effective public health practice that responds to
current and evolving conditions, and contributes to the public's health and well-being.

14) DEFINE LINKAGES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

It is a method of bringing information from different sources together about the same person or
entity to create a new, richer dataset.
The linkage of information from disparate information sources enables the construction of
chronological sequences of events and when used at the macro level provide valuable
information for policy and research into the health and wellbeing of the population.

15) DEFINE POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

It pertains to the setting of goals for health services, developing performance standards,
determining priorities for the allocation of resources, and planning for systems to meet
identified health needs
Epidemiology is responsible for generating knowledge, information, and technology that
can be used in the development of policies for the promotion, prevention, and control of
health problems

16) WHAT ARE THE TWO BROAD TYPES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY?

A. Descriptive Epidemiology
B. Analytic Epidemiology

17. DESCRIBE THE TWO BROAD TYPES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY?

Descriptive epidemiology
- Provides a way of organizing and analysing these data in order to understand
variations in disease frequency geographically and over time, and how disease (or health) varies
among people based on a host of personal characteristics (person, place, and time).
Analytical epidemiology
- is concerned with the search for causes or effects, or the why and the how.
- to quantify the association between exposures and outcomes and to test hypotheses
about causal relationships.

18. WHAT ARE THE TWO MEASURES OF DISEASE FREQUENCY?

-Prevalence
-Incidence
19. WHAT IS THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRIANGLE?
- The epidemiologic triangle is a model for explaining the organism causing the disease
and the conditions that allow it to reproduce and spread.

20. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW EPIDEMIOLOGY IS USED IN THE REAL WORLD

 - Epidemiological methods are used for disease surveillance to identify which hazards
are the most important. Epidemiological studies are also used to identify risk factors which may
present critical control points in the food production system.