Answer 3 for PUB 540 Discuss three of the seven uses and applications of epidemiology
Answer 3 for PUB 540 Discuss three of the seven uses and applications of epidemiolog
There are seven defined uses of epidemiology as discussed by Friis and Sellers (2021) which include search for causes, completing the clinical picture, identification of syndromes, estimation of individual risks and chances, examining the working of health services, diagnosing the health of the community, and studying the history of the heath of populations. The three I want to discuss include studying the history of the health of populations, diagnosing the health of the community, and examining the working of health services. All three of these that I am most interested in fall under the health status and human services umbrella as illustrated and discussed by Friis and Sellers (2021). In studying the history of the health of populations the changes of characteristics in diseases can be assessed as well as how diseases have had both upward and downward trends (Friis and Sellers, 2021). In diagnosing the health of the community Friss and Sellers (2021) thoroughly discuss assessing the condition of people and assessing variables of the disease as it relates to the population such as incidence, prevalence, disability, and mortality as this was said to give perspective and help identify the relative importance of the given disease or health issue, additionally looking at these factors aids in identifying which groups may require special attention, because populations change and evolve it important to also incorporate monitoring and measuring tools that are able to assess the population changes. In examining the working of health services, the theme is identifying need for improvement and assesses the successes of services delivered and its effect on the community health, its needs and how the needs are or aren’t met related to resources (Friis and Sellers, 2021). With the knowledge obtained in examining the aforementioned working of health services Friis and Sellers (2021) address how the data may be used to develop improved services, and plan for future which is describe as action research, collecting information that is timely on both health and health services is critical and needs attention to study and experiment, lastly information must be collected at all levels from local districts to international levels to have adequate data for examining the workings of health services.
Descriptive epidemiology can be used to study health and illness and predict future trends by outlining patterns of disease and aiding in the formulation of hypothesis regarding the underlying causes of diseases and by characterizing the “amount and distribution of disease within a population” as discussed by Friiss and Sellers (2021, p. 184). An objective of descriptive epidemiology is permitting the evaluation of trends in health and disease in countries as well as subgroups in those countries according to Friis and Sellers (2021) which is discussed as key in monitoring diseases and identifying emerging problems/diseases.
